HM Treasury

Non-domestic Rates

Mr Clive Betts: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many challenges to (a) the 2005 Rating List and (b) the 2010 Rating List are yet to be resolved in (i) Barnsley, (ii) Chesterfield, (iii) Doncaster, (iv) North East Derbyshire, (v) Bolsover, (vi) Bassetlaw, (vii) Derbyshire Dales, (viii) Rotherham and (ix) Sheffield.

Mr David Gauke: The information is published in Valuation Office Agency published statistics which is on gov.uk.

Inheritance Tax: Wales

Mr David Hanson: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people with post codes in Wales paid inheritance tax in each year since 2010.

Mr David Gauke: This information is published as Official Statistics together with the Inheritance Tax National Statistics at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/inheritance-tax-statistics.

Prime Minister

News International

Tom Watson: To ask the Prime Minister, what meetings he has had with representatives of News International since his reappointment as Prime Minister in May 2015.

Mr David Cameron: Details of meetings with external organisations, including meetings with newspaper and other media proprietors, editors and senior executives, are published on a quarterly basis and can be accessed via the gov.uk website.

Official Residences

Tom Watson: To ask the Prime Minister, how many days he spent at (a) 10 Downing Street and (b) Chequers in an official capacity since he was reappointed Prime Minister in May 2015.

Mr David Cameron: The majority of my time is spent in Downing Street and I regularly spend time in Chequers and my constituency.

Prime Minister: Travel

Tom Watson: To ask the Prime Minister, what the cost to the public purse has been of (a) clothes, (b) luggage and (c) other travel accessories bought for himself or his wife since he was first appointed Prime Minister in 2010.

Mr David Cameron: No public money has been spent.

Egypt: Diplomatic Relations

Ann Clwyd: To ask the Prime Minister, when he next plans to meet the President of Egypt.

Mr David Cameron: I refer the right hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Brighton, Pavilion (Ms Lucas) by the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, my hon. Friend the Member for Bournemouth East (Mr Ellwood) on 29 June 2015, UIN 4073.

Department for Work and Pensions

Social Security Benefits

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to his Department's statistical release, entitled Benefit cap: number of households capped to February 2015, published on 14 May 2015, how many capped households which consist of a single parent with dependent children include at least one child aged (a) under three years and (b) between three and four years.

Justin Tomlinson: DWP statisticians are currently assessing the viability of publishing further age breakdowns for children in households subject to the benefit cap alongside suitable context and commentary. If the analyses prove to be sufficiently robust the results will be published at the earliest opportunity according to the Code of Practice for statistics.

Universal Credit

Mr Nicholas Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans he has for implementation of universal credit.

Priti Patel: The national roll out of Universal Credit is on track and I enclose a link to the overall roll out and expansion plans:https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/414937/universal-credit-national-expansion-tranche-three-and-four.pdf

Department for Work and Pensions: Freedom of Information

Peter Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, on how many occasions his Department applied the exemption in section 38(1)(a) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (disclosure likely to endanger the physical or mental health of any individual) in wholly or partly refusing a freedom of information request in each of the last five years.

Peter Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, on how many occasions his Department applied the exemption in section 38(1)(b) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (disclosure likely to endanger the safety of any individual) in wholly or partly refusing a freedom of information request in each of the last five years.

Peter Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what instructions have been given to staff in his Department dealing with freedom of information requests on the application of Freedom of Information Act Awareness Guidance No. 19, issued by the Information Commissioner's Office, in considering whether to apply the exemptions in section 38 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Justin Tomlinson: Statistics on the use of Freedom of Information exemptions are published by the Ministry of Justice (Table 10 of annual reports). They are available here https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/government-foi-statistics. These statistics provide the number of times section 38 as a whole has been used by each government department including DWP. More detailed figures for the constituent parts of section 38 are not readily available because our systems are not designed to provide a more detailed breakdown than is required for the published statistics. No guidance has been issued to staff on the application of Freedom of Information Act Awareness Guidance No.19, issued by the Information Commissioner's Office, about the application of section 38 of the Act. However, the Ministry of Justice has published its own guidance on the use of this exemption. This is available here: http://www.justice.gov.uk/information-access-rights/foi-guidance-for-practitioners/exemptions-guidance.

Employment

Kirsten  Oswald: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what change there has been in the rate of employment and self-employment among (a) working age adults with a disability and (b) working age adults with no disability in the last three years.

Justin Tomlinson: The table below shows estimates of the employment and self-employment rates for disabled and non-disabled people of working age 16-64 in the United Kingdom. These estimates are based on the Labour Force Survey for the quarters April-June 2013 and January-March 2015 (the most recently available data). Due to changes in the definition of disability[1], this is the longest period over which estimates can be compared on a consistent basis.   Equality Act 2010 definition for disabled people  DisabledNon-Disabled Quarter - YearEmployment RateSelf-employment RateEmployment RateSelf-employment Rate  Apr-Jun 201343.6%7.0%76.8%9.9% Jan-Mar 201546.3%7.1%79.0%10.6% Change+2.7%+0.1%[2]+2.2%+0.6%[1] In April 2013, changes were made to the wording of the disability questions in order to bring the LFS into line with the Government Statistical Service (GSS) Harmonised Standards for questions on disability and also enable the LFS estimates to be consistent with the definitions used in 2010 Equality Act. These estimates cannot be directly compared with estimates for previous years which were based on a definition relating to the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA).[2] This change is not statistically significant.

Employment and Support Allowance: Preston

Mr Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many employment and support allowance applicants in Preston had to travel to medical assessments in (a) Preston, (b) South Ribble, (c) Chorley, (d) other local authorities in Lancashire, (e) Merseyside and (f) Greater Manchester in 2014; which venues each such applicant attended; and how many such applicants attended each such venue.

Priti Patel: Holding answer received on 08 July 2015



 The information requested is not readily available at local authority level and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Universal Credit

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to paragraph 12 of the report of the Social Security Advisory Committee on The Universal Credit (Waiting Days) (Amendment) Regulations 2015 (S.I. 2015 No. 1362), published June 2015, what the evidential basis is for the statement that the policy is focused on those coming to Universal Credit from relatively higher-income employment.

Priti Patel: Holding answer received on 08 July 2015



 Waiting days will only be served at the beginning of a completely new claim to Universal Credit, which means people moving from low-income work are less likely to be affected.

Universal Credit

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many Universal Credit advances have been paid out since April 2013.

Priti Patel: Holding answer received on 08 July 2015



 The information is not available. The Department published its strategy for releasing official statistics on Universal Credit in September 2013. As outlined in the strategy, officials are quality assuring data for Universal Credit and formulating a definitive list of what statistics will be provided in the future.   These statistics will be published in accordance with the relevant protocols in the Code of Practice for Official Statistics.

Universal Credit

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will equalise the amount of Universal Credit payable to employees and self-employed people who have the same annual income.

Priti Patel: Universal Credit is assessed on a monthly basis and is based either on the earnings someone actually received in that month, or where relevant for a self-employed claimant, the minimum income floor.

Independent Living Fund

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what information his Department holds on the number of local authorities which have ringfenced funding for the Independent Living Fund that has been transferred to them.

Justin Tomlinson: My Department does not hold this information, however, all local authorities have been allocated sufficient funding to ensure that existing commitments to former ILF users can be paid in full for the remainder of this year.

Universal Credit

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 2 July 2015 to Question 4712, what the expected saving to the public purse from implementation of universal credit will be in 2016-17.

Priti Patel: The expected saving to the public purse from implementation of universal credit for 2016-17 are published on page 142 of DWP forecasting publication and OBR Economic and Fiscal Outlook:http://cdn.budgetresponsibility.independent.gov.uk/March2015EFO_18-03-webv1.pdf

Independent Living Fund

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans he has to publish information on the effect on disabled people and their carers of the closure of the Independent Living Fund and the transfer of responsibility to local authorities.

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the number of Independent Living Fund users whose support has been (a) reduced and (b) removed entirely following the transfer of responsibility for that Fund to local authorities.

Justin Tomlinson: The potential implications of closing the Independent Living Fund are set out clearly in the Equality Analysis published on 6 March 2014. As a part of the Equality Analysis we made a commitment to monitor the actual impact of the closure of the ILF on former users of the ILF. Planning for this has already begun.

Independent Living Fund

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to monitor the effect on disabled people and their carers of the closure of the Independent Living Fund and the transfer of responsibility to local authorities.

Justin Tomlinson: The potential implications of closing the Independent Living Fund are set out clearly in the Equality Analysis published on 6 March 2014. As a part of this we made a commitment to monitor the actual impact of the closure of the ILF on former users of the ILF. All local authorities have been allocated sufficient funding to ensure that existing commitments to former ILF users can be paid in full for the remainder of this year.

Independent Living Fund

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many Independent Living Fund (ILF) users no longer have a carer or personal assistant who was previously funded by an ILF award.

Justin Tomlinson: My Department does not hold this information, however, all local authorities have been allocated sufficient funding to ensure that existing commitments to former ILF users can be paid in full for the remainder of this year.

Social Security Benefits

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 6 July 2015 to Question 5024, if he will list the circumstances in which Short Term Benefit Advance was not paid in 2014.

Priti Patel: One of the main reasons that a Short Term Benefit Advance (STBA) was not paid in 2014 was because the Department was able to pay benefit instead. This was the best outcome for all concerned and meant a benefit advance was not necessary. Other circumstances in which an STBA may not have been paid include where there was doubt as to whether the claimant was likely to be entitled to the benefit being claimed.

Home Office

Refugees

Bob Blackman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make representations to the UN on specifying that 20 June should be commemorated as World Refugee and Internally Displaced Persons Day.

James Brokenshire: We have no plans to make such representations as this is a matter for the UN.

Immigrants: Pay

Stewart McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the effect on the economy of non-EU migrants working in the UK having to leave the UK if they earn less then £35,000 per annum.

James Brokenshire: The Home Office published a full impact assessment on the changes to Tier 2 settlement rules when they were laid before Parliament on 15 March 2012. The impact assessment is available on the gov.uk website at:https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/117957/impact-assessment-tier2.pdf.

Entry Clearances: India

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many entry clearance officers were employed by her Department in Mumbai on 1 June (a) 2010 and (b) 2015.

James Brokenshire: Local management information shows that on 1 June 2010, there were a total of 31 Entry Clearance Officers employed in Mumbai. 18 of these staff were employed on a long-term basis and 13 were employed as seasonal relief to process increased volumes of applications in the peak period for Western Indian visa applications to the UK. On 1 June 2015 local management information shows that there were a total of 24 Entry Clearance Officers employed in Mumbai. 15 of these staff were employed on a long-term basis and 9 were employed as seasonal relief to process increased volumes of applications in the peak period for Western Indian visa applications to the UK.

Home Office: Teleperformance

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the total value is of contracts currently held with her Department by Teleperformance Ltd; and what each such contract relates to.

Karen Bradley: The Home Department currently holds two contracts with Teleperformance Ltd.The Next Generation Outsourced Visa Services contract, which has a total value of £33.3 million exc. VAT per annum for a maximum of 9 years and a minimum of 5 years. This contract is for the provision of services (to supplement the Home Department’s own in-house resources and services) for the support and delivery of the Home Department’s visa application services in 79 countries across Africa and Europe.The Contact Centre Services contract for Her Majesty’s Passport Office, which has a total value of £10 million exc. VAT per annum for a maximum of 5 years and a minimum of 3 years. This contract is for the provision of contact centre services for phone and e-mail contacts from UK and International passport customers.

Asylum

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people have (a) applied for and (b) been granted asylum from (i) Syria, (ii) Eritrea, (iii) Afghanistan, (iv) Somalia, (v) Nigeria, (vi) Palestine, (vii) Iraq and (viii) Libya in each of the last five years.

James Brokenshire: Holding answer received on 02 July 2015



Thefollowing table shows the latest published number of nationals of (i) Syria, (ii) Eritrea, (iii) Afghanistan, (iv) Somalia, (v) Nigeria, (vi) Palestine, (vii) Iraq and (viii) Libya in each of the last five years that have (a) applied for and (b) been granted asylum or an alternative form of protection in the UK, based on initial decisions for main applicants.The figures provided in the table are published by the Home Office in the Immigration Statistics release, in Table as_01.The Home Office publishes quarterly and annual statistics on asylum applications and initial decisions within the Immigration Statistics release. A copy of the latest release, Immigration Statistics January – March 2015 is available from https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/home-office/series/immigration-statistics-quarterly-release and the Library of the House.



Asylum applications published figures
(Excel SpreadSheet, 12.59 KB)

Home Office: Staff

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many officials were employed in her Department on 1 January (a) 2010 and (b) 2015.

Karen Bradley: The number of officials working in the Home Office is recorded at the end of each month; therefore the numbers of officials provided in tables 1 and 2 is as on 31 December in 2009 and 2014. It is important to note as context that Machinery of Government changes have taken place during this period, including 4,639 FTE officials transferring from HMRC to join the Home Office on 1st April 2010 to undertake functions previously carried out by HMRC. Excluding these machinery changes, the Home Office reduced the number of staff by almost 2000 officials by 2014 compared to 2010. 



The number of officials working in the Home Dept.
(Excel SpreadSheet, 16.77 KB)

Visas: Appeals

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many appeals have been granted following refusal of the granting of a settlement visa since 1 January 2015.

James Brokenshire: Until 31st March 2015, no appeal outcomes have been recorded on appeals related to in-country settlement cases where the application was refused between 1st January 2015 and 31st March 2015.Between 1st January and 31st March 2015, 228 appeals were allowed at the First-tier Tribunal which related to an earlier in-country settlement application.

Bridgend College

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 25 June 2015 to Question 3116, when copies of the Estyn and QAA inspection were requested from Bridgend College; and if she will make a statement.

James Brokenshire: The Estyn report has not been requested from the college as it is available online. Officials requested the QAA inspection report from the college on 23 June.

Immigration Controls: Dover Port

Mr Douglas Carswell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if her Department will take steps to increase the number of checks on vehicles arriving through the Port of Dover.

James Brokenshire: Border Force deployed additional resources to combat the increase in opportunistic migrant activity that followed the strike at Calais by French workers, including deployment of additional sniffer dog and contractor freight searching capability to deal with the anticipated risk of migrants targeting slow moving traffic at the juxtaposed ports in Northern France. We have also deployed additional resource to enable enhanced screening at Dover port of both freight and tourist vehicles.

Overseas Students: Employment

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what restrictions on working hours and type of work there are on international students with tier 4 (general) visas; and what plans she has to place further working hours restrictions on such students.

James Brokenshire: Tier 4 (General) students studying courses at degree level or above at Higher Education Institutions (HEI) are permitted to work for 20 hours per week during term time and full-time during vacations. Tier 4 (General) students studying courses below degree level at HEIs, or studying at publicly-funded further education colleges, are permitted to work for 10 hours per week during term time and full-time during vacations. In addition, courses of study may include a work placement, provided it is an integral and assessed part of the course.Tier 4 (General) students cannot be self-employed or employed as a professional sportsperson, an entertainer, or a doctor in training, except where the student is studying on a recognised foundation programme under Tier 4.We keep our all policies under review. We continue to have a highly competitive offer for international students, which allows the brightest and the best to study at our world-class universities.

Immigrants: Detainees

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information her Department holds on the average length of time it takes for local authorities to find accommodation in the community for a person who has been detained in an immigration removal centre and subsequently been found to be under 18 following a Merton compliant age assessment.

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information her Department holds on the average length of time its takes for local authorities to conduct a Merton compliant age assessment for an individual held in an immigration removal centre and classified as an age dispute case.

James Brokenshire: It is not possible to provide information in such cases, without the examination of individual records at disproportionate cost.Guidance has recently been issued by the Home Office and the Association of Directors of Children’s Services to remind all the agencies involved in age dispute cases of the importance of working together to resolve them as quickly as possible. The guidance is available at:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/age-assessment-joint-working-instruction

Asylum: Libya

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many applications were made for asylum in the UK by Libyans between June 2014 and the end of November 2014; how many Libyans who made such applications (a) remain in the UK awaiting a decision and (b) have been refused asylum; and if she will make a statement.

James Brokenshire: Figures on asylum applications and initial decisions are published quarterly by the Home Office in the Immigration Statistics release, in table as_01q. The following table shows the number of asylum applications by nationals of Libya that were made, refused (based on initial decisions), and pending in quarter 3 (July-September) and quarter 4 (October-December) 2014, for main applicants. Table: Number of asylum applications by nationals of Libya that were made, refused (based on initial decisions (1)) and pending (2) in Q3 (Jul-Sep) and Q4 (Oct-Dec) 2014, for main applicantsQuarterTotal applicationsTotal refusalsTotal pending  Q3 201411830336  Q4 201412659410  (1) Initial decisions do not necessarily relate to applications made in the same period and exclude the outcome of appeals or other subsequent decisions.  (2) 'Pending' cases are those asylum applications, including fresh claims, lodged since 1 April 2006 which are still under consideration at the end of the reference period.  A copy of the latest release, Immigration Statistics January – March 2015 is available from https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/home-office/series/immigration-statistics-quarterly-release and the Library of the House.

Asylum: Eritrea

Patrick Grady: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Eritrean citizens have been (a) granted and (b) refused asylum in the UK since 2010.

James Brokenshire: The following table shows the latest published number of nationals of Eritrea that have been granted and refused asylum or other form of protection, based on initial decisions for main applicants between 2010 and Quarter 1 2015.Number of nationals of Eritrea granted asylum or other form of protection and refusals in the UK (main applicants), 2010 to 2015 Q1, based on initial decisions (1)Year/QuarterTotal Grants (2)Total Refusals201055836420116472212012589118201378717320142,1563282015 Q1543160(1) Initial decisions do not necessarily relate to applications made in the same period and exclude the outcome of appeals or other subsequent decisions.(2) Total grants include: a) asylum grants b) Humanitarian Protection, c) Discretionary Leave, d) Grants under family and private life rules, which relate to the introduction of a new approach to Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, from 9 July 2012, e) Leave Outside the Rules, which was introduced for those refused asylum from 1 April 2013; and f) UASC leave, which was introduced for Unaccompanied Asylum-Seeking Children refused asylum but eligible for temporary leave from 1 April 2013.The figures provided in the table are published by the Home Office in the Immigration Statistics release, in Table as_01 and as_01q.The Home Office publishes quarterly and annual statistics on asylum applications and initial decisions within the Immigration Statistics release. A copy of the latest release, Immigration Statistics January – March 2015 is available from: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/home-office/series/immigration-statistics-quarterly-release and the Library of the House.

Immigration: Middle East

Ben Howlett: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the eligibility criteria are for entry to the UK for citizens of (a) Palestine and (b) Israel.

James Brokenshire: Non-EEA nationals seeking entry to the UK for any purpose must meet the requirements of the Immigration Rules. The Rules set out the criteria that applications for entry clearance, leave to enter or remain must meet to qualify for entry. Applicants must produce either a valid passport or travel document that satisfactorily establishes their identity and nationality or citizenship.Nationals or citizens of Israel, who hold a full Israeli passport, do not require a visa to come to the UK as a visitor or for any other purpose, for less than six months. Holders of Palestinian travel documents require a visa to come to the UK for any purpose in the Immigration Rules.

Passports: Children

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many members of staff worked in HM Passport Office processing applications for first passports for UK children born overseas in May (a) 2010, (b) 2011, (c) 2012, (d) 2013, (e) 2014 and (f) 2015; and if she will make a statement.

James Brokenshire: Holding answer received on 07 July 2015



Her Majesty’s Passport Office deploys its workforce flexibly across different types of work in order to manage performance against service standards. As individual staff process several different types of application it is not possible to provide a breakdown of how many work solely on first time applications for children born overseas.

HM Passport Office: Finance

Mr David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what surplus was generated by HM Passport Agency between April 2014 and April 2015.

James Brokenshire: In the financial year 1 April 2014 to 31 March 2015, HM Passport Office generated an unplanned surplus of £59.075 million due to passport demand being significantly higher than forecast for the year. This figure is published in the Home Office’s Annual Report and Accounts 2014-15, and can be found at line G of the table on page 93 of the publication.A copy of the Home Office’s Annual Report and Accounts 2014-15 is available in the Vote office of the House of Commons, and also on gov.uk website here: https://www.gov.uk/mwg internal/de5fs23hu73ds/progress?id=sBy1t6XS5Z1jNsMdhX20ktLGye4ndTbGKe5Pjr5O12o,&dl

Illegal Immigrants: France

Mr David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information she holds on how many illegal migrants have been located at Calais and Coquelles by (a) Border Force staff, (b) Eurotunnel and Eurostar staff, (c) ferry company staff and (d) the French authorities in each time period for which records are kept since January 2014.

James Brokenshire: To ensure the integrity and security of the UK border Her Majesty’s Government does not comment on port specific statistics.At the regional juxtaposed ports in Northern France, around 40,000 attempts to cross the Channel illegally in 2014/15 have been prevented by Border Force and its contractors and the French authorities, compared to 18,000 in 2013/14.

Illegal Immigrants: France

Mr David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what records the Border Force keeps on illegal migrants prevented from entering the UK by UK authorities or companies at the Port of Calais and Coquelles.

James Brokenshire: At the ports of Calais and Coquelles illegal migrants detected by Border Force are passed directly to the French police for removal from the UK control zones for processing by the French authorities.To ensure the integrity and security of the UK border Her Majesty’s Government does not comment on port specific statistics.At the regional juxtaposed ports in Northern France, around 40,000 attempts to cross the Channel illegally in 2014/15 have been prevented by Border Force and its contractors and the French authorities, compared to 18,000 in 2013/14.

Passports

Mr David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many claims for compensation the Passport Office (a) approved and (b) rejected between April 2014 and April 2015; and how much compensation was (i) claimed and (ii) paid in relation to those claims in that period.

James Brokenshire: Records are not held centrally on the outcome of individual claims and data is not available in the format requested at (a), (b), and (i). In the financial year 2014-15, Her Majesty’s Passport Office (HM Passport Office) paid compensation totalling £250, 010.67.HM Passport Office only normally offers compensation for financial loss as a result of delays in its guaranteed (Fast Track and Premium) services; or to reimburse any out of pocket expenses incurred by a customer as a direct consequence of an error or omission by a member of staff.Full details on HMPO compensation can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/compensation-and-complaints-handling

Home Office: Freedom of Information

Peter Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, on how many occasions her Department applied the exemption in section 38(1)(a) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (disclosure likely to endanger the physical or mental health of any individual) in wholly or partly refusing a freedom of information request in each of the last five years.

Peter Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what instructions have been given to staff in her Department dealing with freedom of information requests on the application of Freedom of Information Act Awareness Guidance No. 19, issued by the Information Commissioner's Office, in considering whether to apply the exemptions in section 38 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Peter Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, on how many occasions her Department applied the exemption in section 38(1)(b) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (disclosure likely to endanger the safety of any individual) in wholly or partly refusing a freedom of information request in each of the last five years.

Karen Bradley: No such instructions have been issued. Officials handling freedom of information requests are advised to consult the guidance issued by the Information Commissioner’s Office whenever the use of an application is being considered.The Ministry of Justice publishes annual statistical reports on the handling of requests for information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 for central government. These reports include statistics on the number of times each exemption was used by each government department to withhold information. These reports can be accessed on the following webpage: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/government-foi-statistics.

Crime: Religious Buildings

Mr Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many instances of (a) theft, (b) theft of lead roofing and (c) criminal damage from (i) churches, (ii) mosques, (iii) synagogues, (iv) Hindu temples, (v) Sikh temples and (vi) other places of worship were recorded by each police force in England in 2014.

Mike Penning: Holding answer received on 08 July 2015



The Home Office does not hold this data. The police record offences of thefts and criminal damage and supply this information to the Home Office. The police however do not supply details on buildings involved in instances of theft and criminal damage.Our Scrap Metal Dealers Act 2013 implemented on 1 October 2013 is tightening the net around rogue dealers who flout the rules and wilfully purchase stolen metal through the introduction of a robust licensing scheme that supports legitimate businesses. We have also increased the financial penalties, banned cash payments for scrap metal and undertaken targeted enforcement through the National Metal Theft Taskforce. Alongside these initiatives, we have seen substantial falls in metal theft.

Immigration Controls: Foreign Workers

Kirsty Blackman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to her Answer of 2 July 2015 to Question 4295, if she will make it her policy to ensure that current employers of workers on tier 2 visas whose immigration status is changing as a result of 2011 immigration rules changes requiring workers who have been in the UK for more five years to earn more than £35,000 gross per annum are aware that these changes are now taking effect; and if she will provide support to such employers to identify employees whose immigration status may now change.

James Brokenshire: Holding answer received on 08 July 2015



As a condition of sponsoring a worker under Tier 2, sponsoring employers are required to monitor the immigration status of their workers.To ensure sponsors are aware of changes to Immigration Rules, UK Visas & Immigration regularly sends online notifications to sponsors, and the appropriate guidance documents are updated to reflect changes to the Immigration Rules. UK Visas & Immigration also operates a Business Helpdesk to support sponsors with any enquiries.

Police: Crimes of Violence

Dr Alan Whitehead: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many crimes of violence against serving police officers were (a) entered by each constabulary into the national crime statistics and (b) recorded through health and safety self-reporting by police officers in (i) 2012, (ii) 2013 and (iii) 2014.

Mike Penning: Table 1 contains police recorded crime statistics for the offence ‘Assault without injury on a constable’ for the calendar years 2012 to 2014, for each police force area in England and Wales. Any assaults on police officers which resulted in an injury will be recorded under the broader violence with injury offence classifications and cannot separately identify those where police officers are the victim.Table 2 contains statistics on the number of police officers assaulted whilst on duty dur-ing the financial years 2011/12 to 2013/14. These figures are based upon self-reported data held within police forces’ human resource or health and safety systems. These figures are not fully comparable because recording practices may vary between forces and over time.



1. Recorded crime 2. Statistics
(Excel SpreadSheet, 14.99 KB)

Police: Finance

Edward Argar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans she has to review the formula governing the allocation of national funding to individual police forces.

Mike Penning: As I set out in the House on 6 July, the Government has committed to a fundamental review of the police funding formula and we hope to announce a consultation on the issue shortly.

Human Trafficking: Northern Ireland

Mr Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to reduce people trafficking into Northern Ireland.

Karen Bradley: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Islamic State: British Nationals Abroad

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she last had discussions with the governments of (a) Turkey and (b) Cyprus on the prevention of vulnerable individuals travelling to fight for Daesh is Iraq and Syria.

James Brokenshire: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Domestic Violence: Northern Ireland

Mr Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what training her Department provides to immigration officials in Northern Ireland to identify victims of domestic violence.

James Brokenshire: Holding answer received on 09 July 2015



Border Force and Immigration Enforcement have established dedicated programmes of activity to strengthen officers’ safeguarding awareness and the capability to detect potentially vulnerable people encountered. Officers working in Northern Ireland have all received safeguarding and human trafficking training. This training includes behavioural indicator awareness which is used by officers to identify individuals who may be in a stressful or vulnerable situation as a result of different forms of abuse including domestic violence. If potential domestic violence victims are identified then they are referred to the Police Service Northern Ireland and Social Services.

Travellers: Caravan Sites

Mr Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent discussions she has had with the National Police Chiefs' Council on the guidance issued to police officers on dealing with unauthorised Traveller encampments; and if she will make a statement.

Mike Penning: Home Office Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide variety of partners, as well as organisations and individuals in the public and private sectors, as part of the process of policy development and delivery. Details of these meetings are published on the Cabinet Office website on a quarterly basis. I refer the hon. member to the answer I gave on the 25 June 2015 to Parliamentary Question 3057.

Naturalisation

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when her Department plans to reach a decision on the naturalisation application of the hon. Member for Cardiff South and Penarth's constituent, Ms Noor Aldoumani.

James Brokenshire: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Islamic State: British Nationals Abroad

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she last met representatives of (a) airlines, (b) travel companies, (c) ferry companies and (d) Eurostar and Eurotunnel to discuss the prevention of travel by individuals attempting to join Daesh in Iraq and Syria.

James Brokenshire: Home Office Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide variety of international partners, as well as organisations and individuals in the public and private sectors, as part of the process of policy development and delivery. Details of these meetings are published on the Cabinet Office website on a quarterly basis.

Visas: Ireland

Mr Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the effect of the British-Irish Visa scheme on tourism.

James Brokenshire: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Northern Ireland Office

Northern Ireland Office: Freedom of Information

Peter Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what instructions have been given to staff in her Department dealing with freedom of information requests on the application of Freedom of Information Act Awareness Guidance No. 19, issued by the Information Commissioner's Office, in considering whether to apply the exemptions in section 38 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Mrs Theresa Villiers: No Northern Ireland Office (NIO) specific guidance has been issued to staff on the application of Freedom of Information Act Awareness Guidance No.19, issued by the Information Commissioner’s Office, about the application of section 38 of the Act. However, NIO staff responsible for preparing FOI responses regularly refer to ICO and MOJ Guidance on the application of exemptions.

Northern Ireland Office: Freedom of Information

Peter Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, on how many occasions her Department applied the exemption in section 38(1)(a) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (disclosure likely to endanger the physical or mental health of any individual) in wholly or partly refusing a freedom of information request in each of the last five years.

Peter Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, on how many occasions her Department applied the exemption in section 38(1)(b) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (disclosure likely to endanger the safety of any individual) in wholly or partly refusing a freedom of information request in each of the last five years.

Mrs Theresa Villiers: The Department does not separately record use of exemptions under section 38(a) and 38(b), but does record use of section 38 as a whole. During the past 5 years this exemption was used three times in 2010, three times in 2013 and not used in 2011, 2012 and 2014. Statistics on the use of Freedom of Information exemptions are published by the Ministry of Justice (Table 10 of annual reports). They are available here:https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/government-foi-statistics.

Enterprise Zones: Coleraine

Mr Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what assessment she has made of the effect on the local economy in Coleraine of the enterprise zone in that area.

Mrs Theresa Villiers: At Budget 2014, the Chancellor announced that businesses located within the Executive’s proposed pilot Enterprise Zone near Coleraine will benefit from Enhanced Capital Allowances (ECAs) until 2020.Implementing this measure is a matter for the Executive in Northern Ireland. I understand that work to finalise proposals is ongoing.

Parades: Belfast

Mr Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what recent discussions she has had with the Parades Commission on preparations for parading on 12 July 2015 in Belfast.

Mrs Theresa Villiers: Under the Public Processions (NI) Act 1998, the Parades Commission is responsible for operational matters relating to parading, acting independently of Government. I do not discuss individual parading decisions with them. I have not therefore discussed their preparations for parades taking place on 12 July 2015 in Belfast. In recent weeks I have, however, discussed parades, including those taking place on 12 July, with the Chief Constable and the PSNI, and with a number of Northern Ireland’s political parties.

UK Membership of EU: Northern Ireland

Mr Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what assessment she has made of the potential effect of the provisions of the EU Referendum Bill on levels of investment in Northern Ireland.

Mrs Theresa Villiers: The purpose of the Bill is to provide a legislative framework for a referendum on the UK’s membership of the EU. Giving people a vote on our future relationship with Europe was a Conservative manifesto commitment and was given substantial cross party support when voted on in Parliament.Northern Ireland will continue to be a very competitive place for attracting inward investment. In his renegotiation with the EU, the Prime Minister intends to enhance the attractiveness of the whole of the UK, including Northern Ireland, as a destination for inward investment by securing reforms to reduce the risk of excessive or unnecessary regulation being imposed by the EU.

Department of Health

Accident and Emergency Departments: East Midlands

Edward Argar: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, which A&E departments in (a) Leicestershire and (b) the East Midlands have 24 hour mental health support.

Alistair Burt: The information requested is not collected centrally.

Digital Technology: Children

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the long-term health effects of excessive use of video games and the internet by primary school children; and what steps he is taking to address that matter.

Alistair Burt: The Department has made no such assessment.   Children who spend more time on computers, watching TV and playing video games tend to experience higher levels of emotional distress, anxiety and depression. This relationship is particularly negative among those who engage in high levels of screen use (more than four hours a day).   Following an in-depth look at mental health and wellbeing support for children and young people, the Government has set out a blueprint for improving care over the next five years. The Government report of the Children and Young People’s Mental Health and Wellbeing Taskforce’s findings, Future in mind, published on 17 March 2015, sets out a clear national ambition in the form of key aspirations that the Government would wish to see by 2020. We are already taking forward work on a number of the proposals in Future in mind including:   - development of local transformation plans by local areas; - the extension and expansion of the Children and Young People’s Access to Psychological Therapies Programme; - the commissioning of a new prevalence survey; and - joint training and pilots in schools.

Diabetes: Health Services

Rebecca Pow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to improve diabetes (a) care and (b) prevention; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Ellison: Preventing diabetes and promoting the best possible care for people with diabetes is a key priority for this Government. The NHS Five Year Forward View set out a commitment to implement a National NHS Diabetes Prevention Programme. This will provide lifestyle interventions for people at increased risk of type 2 diabetes to reduce their possibility of developing this condition. We are building on this programme to improve the outcomes of people with and at risk of diabetes.   For those who already have diabetes, delivery of the care processes continues to be incentivised through the Quality Outcomes Framework. It is up to individual general practitioner (GP) practices, working with their local clinical commissioning groups (CCGs), to assess their own performance and take action where necessary.   We have increased transparency through the creation of an online tool which highlights variation in the prevalence and treatment of diabetes. The link can be found below:   http://healthierlives.phe.org.uk/   In addition, the CCG outcomes indicator set provides clear, comparative information for CCGs, Health and Wellbeing Boards, local authorities, patients and the public about the quality of health services commissioned by CCGs and the associated health outcomes. Through publicly sharing this information, CCGs and GP practices can see how they compare with their peers and take action where they need to improve.

Accident and Emergency Departments: Standards

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the average waiting time in A&E was in (a) Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust, (b) University Hospital Lewisham, (c) London and (d) England in each of the last four (i) quarters and (ii) years.

Jane Ellison: The National Health Service Health and Social Care Information Centre Hospital Episode Statistics measure accident and emergency waiting times from arrival to assessment, treatment and departure. A table showing the mean and median waiting times for 2010-11 to 2013-14 and quarters 1, 2, 3, and 4 of 2013-14 is attached. Data for individual hospital sites are not published. Final data for 2014-15 is not yet available. 



A&E waiting times London, Lewisham & England
(Word Document, 20.29 KB)

Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust: Employment Agencies

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much was spent on agency (a) doctors and (b) nurses in Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust in each of the last five years.

Alistair Burt: The information available is presented in the table.   OrganisationTotal Agency Spend (£’000) 2013-142012-132011-122010-11 2009-10(a) Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust - Agency Doctors7,049n/an/an/an/a- Agency Nurses13,675n/an/an/a n/a   The trust was formed in 2013, so figures are not available for earlier years.

NHS: Staff

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, for what reasons the work by NICE on (a) A&E, (b) mental health and (c) community safe staffing levels has now been taken on by NHS England; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when his Department jointly commissioned NICE to produce guidelines on safe staffing levels.

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the status is of guidelines published by NICE on safe staffing levels in (a) maternity settings and (b) the adult inpatient wards in acute hospitals.

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions his Department has had with (a) NICE, (b) NHS England, (c) the NHS Trust Development Authority and (d) Monitor on the future publication of guidelines on safe staffing levels.

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will publish the (a) evidence received by, (b) findings and (c) initial recommendations of NICE on its draft guidelines on (i) accident and emergency, (ii) community and (iii) mental health staffing levels.

Ben Gummer: The Government is committed to supporting National Health Service trusts to put in place safe and sustainable levels of staffing by using their resources as effectively as possible for patients.   Following the Inquiry by Sir Robert Francis into the failings at Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust a joint commissioning letter from the Department and NHS England, was sent on 15 November 2013 to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE).   The NICE safe staffing guidance is part of the overall approach to safe staffing which is intended to help make the NHS the safest healthcare system in the world. NHS organisations are using it to support their decision making in respect of staffing levels.   The existing NICE guidance on ‘Safe staffing for nursing in adult inpatient wards in acute hospitals’ (July 2014) and ‘Safe Midwife Staffing in Maternity Settings’ (January 2015) will continue to be used by NHS trusts and will remain important parts of their approach to ensuring safe and high quality care. NICE has said it will leave material already put in the public domain on its website. Draft evidence for Safe Staffing guidelines on Accident and Emergency, collected by NICE has also been published on their website. NICE had not drafted guidelines on community settings and mental health.   The work undertaken by NICE has provided an important foundation for the further work now to be led from within NHS England. NHS England, working with NICE and other national organisations, will now take this work forward for other areas of care and other healthcare professional groups. This work will bring together the focus on safe staffing with the development of new models of care, as set out in the Five Year Forward View.

NHS: Screening

John Glen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 20 June 2015 to Question 3515, what evidence on costs the NHS considers before deciding to offer screening for genetic conditions; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Ellison: The UK National Screening Committee is the national advisory body, which advises Ministers and the National Health Service on all aspects of screening. It makes recommendations on which screening programmes should or should not be introduced based on robust analysis against a set of internationally recognised criteria. Screening should only be introduced where there is evidence that it will be both clinically and cost effective and do more good than harm. The economic evidence supporting the January 2015 expansion of the Newborn Blood Spot Screening Programme to include four new genetic conditions can be found at the following link:   http://www.screening.nhs.uk/policydb_download.php?doc=398

Prescription Drugs: Misuse

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to (a) tackle addiction to and (b) reduce deaths caused by prescription drugs.

Jane Ellison: The UK Guidelines on the Clinical Management of Drug Misuse and Dependence are currently being updated by an expert group which is being supported by Public Health England (PHE). Addiction to prescription and over-the-counter medicines is among the areas being looked at. The updated guidance is due to be published in 2016.   PHE provides support to local authorities to carry out a joint strategic needs assessment (JSNA) in their local area each year. A key part of this support is the annual JSNA support pack, which includes data on addiction to medicines, which can help commissioners assess local problems with prescription drug addiction and commission appropriate services. In addition, PHE is supporting a small number of local areas to pilot improvements in their commissioning of responses to additions to medicines.   PHE is also supporting an expert group led by the Faculty of Pain Medicine at the Royal College of Anaesthetists to develop a core resource on opioid pain medicines that can be used as a source of consistent information by any medical body developing its own materials.   In September 2013 the Home Secretary commissioned the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) to explore the potential for medical and social harms arising from the diversion and illicit supply of prescription drugs. This work includes consideration of the prevalence of misuse, user demographics, and the most common drugs being misused. The ACMD’s report on its findings is expected later this year.

Health Services

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent representations he has received on possible links between quality of care, operational productivity and safe staffing levels from (a) Lord Carter, (b) Robert Francis and (c) others.

George Freeman: The Secretary of State for Health has received no correspondence or other written representations from Lord Carter on the possible links between quality of care, operational productivity and safe staffing levels. The Secretary of State met Lord Carter on 13 May 2015 and 18 May 2015 to discuss procurement. The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for NHS Productivity (Lord Prior) met with Lord Carter on 8 June 2015 and 1 July 2015 and had a telephone call with him on 21 May. In each case it was to receive an update on the work on improving operational productivity that Lord Carter is doing on behalf of the Department. I also met with Lord Carter very briefly on 29 June 2015 to discuss the work. On 11 June 2015 Lord Carter published his Interim report, Review of Operational Productivity in NHS providers.   The Secretary of State has received no correspondence or other written representations from Sir Robert Francis QC on the possible links between quality of care, operational productivity and safe staffing levels. The Secretary of State met Robert Francis on 19 January 2015 to discuss the Freedom to Speak Up report and on 9 February 2015 when the report was formally handed over.   The Secretary of State and other Ministers regularly meet healthcare leaders and receive correspondence and other written representations on a wide range of issues, including safe staffing.

Pancreatic Cancer: Health Services

Richard Benyon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when he expects the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence to commence work on the development of clinical guidance for pancreatic cancer.

George Freeman: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has advised that it expects to commence work on the development of a clinical guideline on pancreatic cancer in late Autumn 2015. The provisional schedule for development of this guideline will be made available on NICE’s website: www.nice.org.uk in due course.

Pancreatic Cancer: Health Services

Richard Benyon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to ensure that all pancreatic cancer patients have access to dietetic treatment, advice and support; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Ellison: NHS England has a published a service specification for pancreatic cancer which clearly defines what it expects to be in place for providers to offer evidence-based, safe and effective pancreatic cancer services. This service specification has been developed by specialised clinicians, commissioners, expert patients and public health representatives to describe core and developmental service standards.   The service specification sets out that all patients with upper gastrointestinal disease (including pancreatic cancer) are at risk of dietary problems and should have access to full dietetic inpatient and outpatient services. Dieticians should be available to see patients during regular outpatient clinics and be available for consultation on ward rounds and multidisciplinary team meetings.   The full service specification can be found at: http://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/a02-cncr-panc.pdf

Pancreatic Cancer: Health Services

Richard Benyon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to ensure new treatment options for pancreatic cancer are made available on the NHS at the earliest opportunity; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Ellison: In commissioning cancer services, NHS England is supported by clinical reference groups (CRGs) which are responsible for developing strategies, pathways and service specifications for each group of cancer type, including a Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic CRG which covers pancreatic cancer. CRGs consider the latest evidence available.   We take the issue of ensuring rapid access to innovative therapies very seriously, which is why we have launched an Accelerated Access Review to make recommendations to Government later in the year on speeding up access for National Health Service patients to innovative and cost effective new medicines, diagnostics and medical technologies.

Pancreatic Cancer: Radiotherapy

Richard Benyon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the Answer of 3 December 2014 to Question 216468, what progress he has made in establishing trials for pancreatic cancer patients using stereotactic ablative radiotherapy.

George Freeman: Cancer Research UK is funding the SPARC trial, which is led by the University of Oxford. This is a phase I trial of pre-operative, margin intensive, stereotactic body radiation therapy for previously untreated borderline resectable pancreatic cancer. The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Clinical Research Network is providing research infrastructure for the trial.

Department of Health: Freedom of Information

Peter Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what instructions have been given to staff in his Department dealing with freedom of information requests on the application of Freedom of Information Act Awareness Guidance No. 19, issued by the Information Commissioner's Office, in considering whether to apply the exemptions in section 38 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Jane Ellison: No guidance has been issued to staff on the application of Freedom of Information Act Awareness Guidance No.19, issued by the Information Commissioner's Office, about the application of section 38 of the Act. However, the Ministry of Justice has published its own guidance on the use of this exemption. This is available here:   http://www.justice.gov.uk/information-access-rights/foi-guidance-for-practitioners/exemptions-guidance   Staff are advised that when they feel an exemption applies under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 to consider the most recent Information Commissioner’s Office and Ministry of Justice guidance as part of the decision making process.

Department of Health: Freedom of Information

Peter Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, on how many occasions his Department applied the exemption in section 38(1)(a) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (disclosure likely to endanger the physical or mental health of any individual) in wholly or partly refusing a freedom of information request in each of the last five years.

Peter Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, on how many occasions his Department applied the exemption in section 38(1)(b) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (disclosure likely to endanger the safety of any individual) in wholly or partly refusing a freedom of information request in each of the last five years.

Jane Ellison: The Department has applied exemption s.38 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 three times in the past five years as set out below.   2011 – both s.38(1)(a) and s.38(1)(b) were applied to one case. 2012 – s.38(1)(b) was applied to one case. 2013 – s.38(1)(a) was applied to one case.

Obesity

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what advice his Department issues to Directors of Public Health on working with businesses in the weight management sector.

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the contribution that companies in the weight management sector can make to tackling obesity.

Jane Ellison: We recognise the important contribution that commercial and non-commercial weight management organisations make in supporting those individuals and families who are overweight and obese to achieve a healthier weight.   Public Health England supports the implementation of expert guidance provided by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence which provides recommendations for local authorities and Directors of Public Health when commissioning lifestyle weight management services, such as those provided by businesses in the sector.

Dementia: Social Services

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps are being taken as part of the Government's dementia strategy to (a) improve the safety of people with dementia while at home and (b) raise awareness of safety around household electrical appliances for people with dementia.

Jane Ellison: As part of the Prime Minister’s Challenge on Dementia 2020, we want to see greater information and support for people with dementia to access housing options which meet their care and lifestyle needs, including appropriate support to remain in the home of their choice.   The 2020 challenge wants to see increased numbers of people with dementia being able to live longer and safely in their own homes when it is in their interests to do so, with a greater focus on independent living.   The Dementia Friendly Communities Champion Group is currently working with a wide range of organisations to consider how to improve the safety of people with dementia who are living in their own homes. The Department will continue to work with the Champion Group to consider issues such as fire and electrical safety for people with dementia, rather than meeting separately with individual organisations.   The Government signed up to a memorandum of understanding with the housing sector, social care and housing services to improve joint action to improve health through the home, which is very relevant for people living with dementia.   Public Health England is working with the fire service to raise awareness of house safety as part of all house visits for all older adults, including those with dementia.

Insulin

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that patients who might benefit from insulin pump therapy across England are identified and offered therapy; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Ellison: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommends insulin pump therapy as an option for adults and children over the age of 12 years with type 1 diabetes, provided that multiple-daily insulin therapy has already been tried to address the specific problems related to glucose control. It also recommends that insulin pump therapy can be used for children younger than 12 years with type 1 diabetes, provided specific criteria are met.   Health and care professionals are expected to take NICE guidance on the treatment of relevant conditions fully into account when deciding how to treat a patient. Insulin pump therapy can make a difference to glycaemic control and quality of life in some people but it is not appropriate for everyone. All decisions about insulin pump therapy must be made in consultation between the patient (and/or their parents or carer) and their health care professional multidisciplinary team.   The United Kingdom Insulin Pump Audit was published in May 2013, supported by Diabetes UK, the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and the Association of British Clinical Diabetologists. It collected data from all four countries of the United Kingdom. The audit demonstrates that 6% of adults with type 1 diabetes and 19% of children with type 1 diabetes are now treated with insulin pumps. The majority of centres involved in the audit reported no issues with funding of insulin pumps for patients who met the criteria set out by NICE.

Surgery: Robotics

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what representations his Department has made to NHS England on the development of commissioning policies on robotic assisted surgery.

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when NHS England will publish a commissioning policy on the use of robotic assisted surgery for kidney and bladder cancer patients.

Jane Ellison: NHS England is responsible for the commissioning of surgical options for the management of urological cancers. Urological cancer encompasses prostate, bladder, kidney, testicular and penile cancers.   During 2014, the Specialised Urology Clinical Reference Group (CRG) began a process of clinical evidence review and policy development relating to robotic-assisted surgery (RAS) in the management of urological cancers.   The CRG has so far developed two commissioning policies, the first relating to prostate cancer. On 2 July 2015, NHS England set out its planned investment decisions for certain specialised services as part of its annual commissioning round. RAS will be routinely commissioned for early stage prostate cancer.   The second policy related to the use of RAS to treat kidney and bladder cancer where it was proposed initially that RAS should not be routinely commissioned for these indications. A draft policy statement was shared with registered stakeholders of the Specialised Urology CRG over summer 2014 to obtain stakeholder feedback.   As a result of the feedback received, the CRG opted to carry out some further analysis and, having made a successful application to the British Association of Urological Surgeons, the CRG is now able to access raw data to enable the further analysis to take place. This work is nearing completion and it has been agreed to develop a commissioning policy for kidney cancer and a separate commissioning policy for bladder cancer. These will be finalised during 2015-16, and the development process will include engagement with key stakeholders and a period of public consultation.

Social Services: Inspections

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what his Department's policy is on inspections by the Care Quality Commission of local authorities' commissioning of care services.

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent representations he has received on inspections by the Care Quality Commission of local authorities' commissioning of care services.

Ben Gummer: The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the independent regulator of health and adult social care providers in England. The CQC does not have the power to inspect local authorities but has a power to carry out a special review of the commissioning of adult social care services by local authorities. It has been agreed that any such review should only happen in exceptional circumstances where there is evidence that commissioning is contributing to poor standards of care for service users. Any such review is subject to the agreement of the Secretary of State for Health and the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government.   Ministers’ offices have reported that they have received no letters, meetings and meeting requests since 1 January 2015 about inspections by the CQC of local authorities' commissioning of care services.   A search of the Department’s Ministerial correspondence database has found one item of correspondence received since 1 January 2015 about inspections by the CQC of local authorities' commissioning of care services.

Drugs: Finance

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to establish a ring-fenced fund for drugs for rare diseases.

George Freeman: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the Rt. hon. Member for Chesham and Amersham (Mrs Cheryl Gillan) on 6 July 2015 to Question 4945.

Electronic Cigarettes: EU Action

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what contribution his Department is making to Government proposals on the taxation of e-cigarettes being made to the European Commission's Fiscalis Programme.

Jane Ellison: As is normal practice, the United Kingdom’s responses to European Commission proposals are cleared across Government. The Department will respond to any request from HM Treasury to agree the Government’s line on this subject if and when firm proposals are made by the Commission.

Clinical Trials

Stephen McPartland: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the announcement by the Prime Minister at the G7 Summit that all UK-funded clinical trials will be made openly available, what steps he is taking to require companies to publish such trials; and which diseases will be covered.

George Freeman: The Prime Minister has written to government departments setting out his expectations on open data and transparency. Work is underway to take forward the transparency agenda nationally and internationally. This will cover diseases that are a threat to health security, for example emerging infectious diseases with pandemic potential.

Department of Health: Public Consultation

Stuart Andrew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when he plans to publish the Government's response to the consultation, No voice heard, no right ignored, a consultation for people with learning disabilities, autism and mental health conditions, which closed on 29 May 2015.

Alistair Burt: Cabinet Office guidance recommends that government departments publish consultation responses within 12 weeks of the consultation closing. To allow the Government to fully consider the broad range of the consultation responses received, the Department intends to respond in the autumn whilst Parliament is sitting, rather than during the recess period.

Palliative Care

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will take steps to widen the availability of the most effective pain relief techniques for dying patients.

Ben Gummer: We are committed to ensuring that everyone at the end of life receives high quality, compassionate care that is personalised to their needs, including the management of symptoms such as pain. The new approach to care at the end of life that we introduced last year is based on five priorities for care of the dying person, which explicitly state the importance of looking after people’s physical needs, including pain symptoms, as well as their spiritual, psychological, social, cultural and religious needs. All staff and organisations involved in providing end of life care are responsible for ensuring the care they deliver is based on the priorities.   In addition, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) Quality Standard on End of Life Care for Adults sets out best practice on the care and treatment of adults at the end of life. It provides specific, concise quality statements and measures to provide the public, health and social care professionals, commissioners and service providers with definitions of high-quality care.   Quality Statement 4 of the Standard is that “People approaching the end of life have their physical and specific psychological needs safely, effectively and appropriately met at any time of day or night, including access to medicines and equipment.”   Specific NICE clinical guidelines on the use of opioids for pain relief and the management of pain symptoms in a range of specific conditions also set out best practice and support clinicians in making clinical decisions and planning and delivering individualised care to people at the end of life.

Ministers: Training

Debbie Abrahams: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, which Ministers have become dementia friends; and on what date they became a dementia friend.

Jane Ellison: Four Department of Health Ministers are Dementia Friends. The Secretary of State for Health became a Dementia Friend on 20 March 2014. I became a Dementia Friend on 6 November 2014, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Life Sciences (George Freeman) became a Dementia Friend on 14 January 2014 and Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Care Quality (Ben Gummer) became a Dementia Friend on 11 July 2014.   The Minister of State for Community and Social Care (Alistair Burt) and Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for NHS Productivity (Lord Prior) plan to become Dementia Friends in July 2015.   Approximately 750 Departmental staff are Dementia Friends.

Transplant Surgery: Waiting Lists

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people were on waiting lists to receive an organ transplant in (a) each East Midlands constituency and (b) England in each of the last five years.

Jane Ellison: As there is no formal categorisation of East Midlands constituencies, figures are provided for the last five financial years for the former East Midlands Strategic Health Authority (SHA).   Number of English residents on the United Kingdom active transplant list from 31 March 2010 broken down by constituencies within the former East Midlands SHA area with all other English constituencies combined   ConstituencyAmber ValleyAshfieldBassetlawBolsoverBoston And SkegnessBosworthBroxtoweCharnwoodChesterfieldCorbyDaventryDerby NorthDerby SouthDerbyshire DalesErewashGainsboroughGedlingGrantham And StamfordHarboroughHigh PeakKetteringLeicester EastLeicester SouthLeicester WestLincolnLoughboroughLouth And HorncastleMansfieldMid DerbyshireNewarkNorth East DerbyshireNorth West LeicestershireNorthampton NorthNorthampton SouthNottingham EastNottingham NorthNottingham SouthRushcliffeRutland And MeltonSherwoodSleaford And North HykehamSouth DerbyshireSouth Holland And The DeepingsSouth LeicestershireSouth NorthamptonshireWellingboroughAll other English residents Total English residents2010/11512149181341513181010191581013152382250343010118199131191215102011111620111612138235,877 6,5532011/126111691515916112013131612108910208244736221191114891412131781313612169111095255,805 6,4362012/1374191116141013141381316811712111752248312341212957101013131012151113105131299205,621 6,2082013/1453158161661711158151241079713101836222281010135910881691595966814128175,443 5,9632014/15971510101291061071413784108128930232261012119811761511614547457146145,421 5,886   Source: NHS Blood and Transplant

London Ambulance Service: Labour Turnover

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the staff turnover rate was in the London Ambulance Service in each of the last five years.

George Freeman: The following table shows numbers of staff joining and leaving London Ambulance Service NHS Trust during each of the last five twelve-month periods for which figures are available. The table also shows the joining and leaving rate during each twelve-month period.   PeriodStaff LeavingLeaving rateStaff JoiningJoining rateApril 2014-March 201558012.6%52011.3%April 2013-March 201448910.6%52111.3%April 2012-March 20134479.6%3076.6%April 2012-March 20133687.6%1703.5%April 2011-March 20123497.0%3066.2%   Source: Health and Social Care Information Centre, Provisional NHS Hospital and Community Health Service monthly workforce statistics.   Notes:  Figures show all staff who have joined from outside or left to outside the London Ambulance Service NHS Trust.Turnover data is based on headcount.These statistics relate to the contracted positions within English National Health Service organisations and may include those where the person assigned to the position is temporarily absent, for example on maternity leave.The leaver/joiner rate is calculated by dividing the number of leavers/joiners by the average of the headcount of staff at the beginning of the period and headcount of staff at the end of the period.

Human Papillomavirus: Vaccination

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his Department's policies of the steps taken by the Danish government to examine people suspected of having a negative reaction to HPV vaccines.

Jane Ellison: The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), the expert committee that advises Ministers on immunisation related issues, considered the safety of the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine in June 2015. It considered reports made to the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency and also published literature. It concluded that it had no concerns about the safety of the HPV vaccine. The JCVI strongly supported continued use of the HPV vaccine to prevent infection with HPV and reduce cases of cervical cancer and other HPV associated cancers. The minutes of the meeting will be published later in the year.   European regulators are aware of the reports emerging from Denmark, including reports of Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome, and these remain under review. At this time the evidence does not support a causative link between HPV vaccination and Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome.   The safety of HPV vaccines remain under continual review and appropriate action will be taken if any important new risks are confirmed.

Dementia

Debbie Abrahams: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, for what reason dementia is no longer listed as a priority area in his official ministerial responsibilities.

Jane Ellison: The Government is clear that Dementia remains a priority and that it will implement the Prime Minister’s Challenge on Dementia 2020 to make sure that dementia care, support, awareness and research are transformed by 2020.

Local Government Services: Health

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to HM Treasury's press release, Chancellor announces £4.5 billion of measures to bring down debt, published on 4 June 2015, what guidance his Department provides to local authorities on cost effectiveness of public health interventions to help them decide how to make in-year savings.

Jane Ellison: Public Health England advises local authorities on the evidence base for particular interventions, both in terms of the interventions’ impact on health outcomes and their cost effectiveness. It has published a range of knowledge and intelligence tools and is continuing to develop its health economics capability in order to strengthen the support it can offer to local government.   The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has also published extensive guidance on public health interventions, including tools that help the commissioners of those interventions to calculate the financial return on their investment.

Oilseed Rape: Allergies

Mike Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the cost of prescription drugs to treat (a) oilseed rape allergy syndrome and (b) conditions displaying symptoms consistent with oilseed rape allergy syndrome in each year since 2010.

Mike Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of how many people have been given prescriptions to treat (a) oilseed rape allergy syndrome and (b) conditions displaying symptoms consistent with oilseed rape allergy syndrome in each year since 2010.

George Freeman: Information is not collected centrally on the number of people prescribed medicines or the medical condition being treated.

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

UK Trade and Investment

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, where each UKTI staff member is based; and at what civil service grade and salary band each such staff member is employed.

Anna Soubry: The information related to numbers and costs of people engaged in delivering UKTI objectives are available in the annual report, page 58 on the link below. https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/443633/UKTI-Annual-Report-Accounts-2014-2015-Web-Version.pdf

UK Membership of EU

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what representations he has received from representatives of the industrial sector on the potential issues associated with the UK leaving the EU.

Anna Soubry: Ministers and officials hold numerous meetings with businesses and industry organisations to discuss a wide range of issues, including Europe.   The Government is progressing with its renegotiation of our relationship with the EU, one focus of which will be increasing the EU’s economic competitiveness, ahead of a referendum on this issue.

Bribery Act 2010

Pauline Latham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what meetings (a) ministers and (b) officials from his Department have held with business organisations to discuss the Bribery Act 2010 and associated departmental guidance since January 2015; and on what dates such meetings were held.

Anna Soubry: This information is not held centrally and can only be provided at disproportionate cost.   I am unable to comment on meetings held under the previous Government as it is an established convention that Ministers of one Administration cannot see the documents of a previous administration.

Ministry of Defence

Libya: Military Bases

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the (a) total and (b) set up costs of the Libyan training mission at Bassingbourn base were; what payments have been made by the Libyan government to cover (i) activation costs, (ii) flights, (iii) repairs, (iv) training, (v) facilities management and catering, (vi) infrastructure inventory and consumable items, (vii) personal costs, (viii) policing and (ix) transport; and if he will make a statement.

Penny Mordaunt: The total costs to the Ministry of Defence of the Libyan training at Bassingbourn in 2014 was £14 million for the training delivered between April and September 2014 and £3 million for the reactivation of Bassingbourn Camp.£2.48 million was received from the Libyan government for the reactivation of Bassingbourn. £65,000 was received for the payment of allowances to the trainees and a total of £195,500 was received for the cost of commercial and charter flights to return the trainees at the end of the training.

RAF Leuchars

Stephen Gethins: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the effect on the local economy of the departure of RAF personnel from Leuchars.

Mark Lancaster: RAF personnel based at Leuchars will be replaced by the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards from summer 2015. This decision is based on the interests of the defence of the whole of the United Kingdom, rather than on the basis of the impact on a specific region.

Tunisia: Military Aid

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he has received a request from the Tunisian government for military training to improve border security between Tunisia and Libya.

Penny Mordaunt: Following discussions in November 2014, we are planning to deliver border security training to Tunisian Forces on the Libyan border later this year.

Ministry of Defence: Freedom of Information

Peter Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, on how many occasions his Department applied the exemption in section 38(1)(a) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (disclosure likely to endanger the physical or mental health of any individual) in wholly or partly refusing a freedom of information request in each of the last five years.

Peter Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, on how many occasions his Department applied the exemption in section 38(1)(b) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (disclosure likely to endanger the safety of any individual) in wholly or partly refusing a freedom of information request in each of the last five years.

Mark Lancaster: Statistics on the use of Freedom of Information exemptions are published by the Ministry of Justice in their annual reports on FOI Statistics (Table 10). The annual reports are available here https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/government-foi-statistics. These statistics provide the number of times section 38 as a whole has been used by each Government Department, including the Ministry of Defence. More detailed figures for the constituent parts of section 38 are not readily available because our systems are not designed to provide a more detailed breakdown than is required for the published statistics.

Ministry of Defence: Freedom of Information

Peter Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what instructions have been given to staff in his Department dealing with freedom of information requests on the application of Freedom of Information Act Awareness Guidance No. 19, issued by the Information Commissioner's Office, in considering whether to apply the exemptions in section 38 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Mark Lancaster: The Ministry of Defence issues guidance to Freedom of Information practitioners on the use of section 38, along with other exemptions. This guidance is attached. 



5323 - Section 38 of the FOI Act - Health & Safety
(PDF Document, 38.53 KB)

Libya: Military Bases

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answers of 24 June 2015 and 1 July 2015 to Questions 5131 and 2850, what damage is covered by the figure of £472,283 given in a Freedom of Information response in May 2015; and if he will make a statement.

Penny Mordaunt: The figure provided in the Freedom of Information response in May 2015 was based on an estimate for the works required to rectify the damage caused by the Libyan trainees. I refer the hon. Member to the answers to Question numbers 5131 and 2850 which provide the actual costs, based on the repairs that have already been completed and a more accurate survey of the outstanding work required.

Strategic Defence and Security Review

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he plans to consult with NGOs on the Strategic Defence and Security Review.

Michael Fallon: The Government is engaging with a range of audiences, including non-governmental organisations.

Defence Fire and Rescue Service: Pensions

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his policy is on Defence Fire and Rescue Service pensions.

Mark Lancaster: As civil servants, Defence Fire and Rescue Service (DFRS) personnel are members of the Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme (PCSPS). Normally this would give them a normal pension age in line with the state pension age (SPA). Recognising the physical demands placed upon them, the Government has put forward a proposal for an effective pension age which will be a maximum three year actuarial reduction from the SPA but not below age 65. This will be funded through efficiencies identified by the Defence Fire and Rescue Management Organisation of which DFRS is a component part.Officials are currently making arrangements to discuss the offer with the relevant trade unions.

Libya: Armed Forces

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what discussions he has had with his Italian counterpart on (a) monitoring and (b) lessons learned from the training of Libyan personnel in Italy; and if he will make a statement.

Penny Mordaunt: The Secretary of State for Defence has regular discussions with his Italian counterpart on a range of issues, including engagement with Libya.

Department for Communities and Local Government

Railways: North of England

Jo Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the effect on regional devolution and economic development of the decision to pause the electrification of the TransPennine rail route between Leeds and Manchester.

Jo Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, when he was first informed about the decision to pause the electrification of the TransPennine rail route between Leeds and Manchester.

Mr Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 1 July 2015 to Question 4424, when his Department was first informed of the decision to delay the electrification of the Manchester to Leeds rail line.

James Wharton: As the my rt.hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Transport (Patrick McLoughlin) explained to the House in a statement on 25 June 2015, Official Report, Column 1067-1070, the electrification of the Transpennine route east of Stalybridge will be paused in order to ensure the programme overall delivers the maximum benefits and value to passengers. He reported to the Transport Committee in March 2015 that Transpennine electrification would be delayed to the 2020s and subsequently confirmed that the programme has been paused. It is right that my rt. hon. Friend has asked Network Rail to undertake a re-plan, and our Departments are in regular dialogue about such matters. Already, 32 miles of track from Liverpool to Manchester has been electrified, with the first electric service running earlier this year, replacing 2-car diesel trains with 4-car electric trains. The new Northern and Transpennine franchises starting next year will increase overall capacity by 36% by the end of 2019 and provide an extra 200 services each weekday, irrespective of when electrification east of Stalybridge is completed. I am therefore confident that the area will still benefit enormously from the investments being made. The Northern Powerhouse is not purely a transport vision; it is an ambition to turn around decades of underperformance in the North, with commitments to science and technology, digital and innovation, culture and tourism, across the region, alongside devolving power to the major cities to give the North a powerful new voice.

Council Housing: Sales

Mr Clive Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the number of council houses with two or more bedrooms that local authorities will be required to sell in the first five years after the implementation of the Housing Bill under the proposed provisions of that Bill.

Brandon Lewis: Details will be set out when the Housing Bill is published.

Social Rented Housing

Mr Clive Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 29 June 2015 to the hon. Member for Sheffield South East, Official Report, column 1164, what financial arrangements will be in place to enable housing association properties and council properties to be replaced.

Brandon Lewis: Details will be set out when the Housing Bill is published.

Non-domestic Rates: Cumbria

Sue Hayman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will take steps to ensure that Cumbria County Council and Cumbria's district councils receive more revenue raised from business rates.

Mr Marcus Jones: I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 7 July, PQ 5357.

Scotland Office

Scotland Office: Freedom of Information

Peter Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, on how many occasions his Department applied the exemption in section 38(1)(b) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (disclosure likely to endanger the safety of any individual) in wholly or partly refusing a freedom of information request in each of the last five years.

David Mundell: Statistics on the use of Freedom of Information exemptions are published by the Ministry of Justice (Table 10 of annual reports). They are available here:https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/government-foi-statistics. These statistics provide the number of times section 38 as a whole has been used by each government department. More detailed figures for the constituent parts of section 38 are not readily available because our systems are not designed to provide a more detailed breakdown than is required for the published statistics.

Scotland Office: Freedom of Information

Peter Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, on how many occasions his Department applied the exemption in section 38(1)(a) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (disclosure likely to endanger the physical or mental health of any individual) in wholly or partly refusing a freedom of information request in each of the last five years.

David Mundell: Statistics on the use of Freedom of Information exemptions are published by the Ministry of Justice (Table 10 of annual reports), and are available here:https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/government-foi-statistics. These statistics provide the number of times section 38 as a whole has been used by each government department. More detailed figures for the constituent parts of section 38 are not readily available because our systems are not designed to provide a more detailed breakdown than is required for the published statistics.

Scotland Office: Freedom of Information

Peter Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what instructions have been given to staff in his Department dealing with freedom of information requests on the application of Freedom of Information Act Awareness Guidance No. 19, issued by the Information Commissioner's Office, in considering whether to apply the exemptions in section 38 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

David Mundell: No guidance has been issued to staff on the application of Freedom of Information Act Awareness Guidance No.19, issued by the Information Commissioner's Office, about the application of section 38 of the Act. However, the Ministry of Justice has published its own guidance on the use of this exemption, and is available here:http://www.justice.gov.uk/information-access-rights/foi-guidance-for-practitioners/exemptions-guidance.

Smith Commission

Kirsty Blackman: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, pursuant to the contribution of the leader of the House of 2 July 2015, if he will place in the Library copies of independent assessments which confirm that the Scottish achieves the recommendations of the Smith commission report.

David Mundell: I am confident that the Scotland Bill will deliver the Smith Commission agreement in full and will be recognised as doing so.

Scotland Office: Annual Reports

Martyn Day: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, when he plans to publish his Department's Annual Report and Accounts for 2014-15.

David Mundell: The Annual Report and Accounts of the Scotland Office and Office of the Advocate General for 2014-15 will be laid before the House of Commons before the summer recess.

Women and Equalities

Equal Pay

Louise Haigh: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, when she plans to bring forward legislative proposals to make regulations under section 78 of the Equality Act 2010 for the purpose of requiring the publication of information showing whether there are differences in the pay of males and females.

Caroline Dinenage: The Government will deliver its manifesto commitment to require companies with at least 250 employees to publish gender pay information at the earliest opportunity. A consultation will be published in the next few days with a view to making regulations in early 2016.

Sports: Females

Mr Mark Hendrick: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, which women's (a) rugby, (b) cricket and (c) football matches she has attended in an official capacity since taking office.

Caroline Dinenage: Holding answer received on 06 July 2015



Both the Secretary of State for Education and Minster for Women and Equalities and I have yet to attend any women’s rugby, cricket or football matches since taking office. I have regular dialogue with the Minister for Sport, and I have recently met with the coach of a women’s cricket team. I look forward to supporting our other women’s teams when their sporting seasons begin.

Employment: Discrimination

Alison McGovern: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what representations the Government has made to employers on the introduction of company policies to tackle sexism at work and the use of staff representatives with whom employees can raise such issues.

Caroline Dinenage: Government established Think, Act, Report in 2011 to provide a simple, step by step framework for companies to build gender equality into their business planning, particularly in relation to recruitment, retention, promotion and pay. Now over 280 businesses, collectively employing well over 2.5 million employees are signed up, providing a powerful community of best practice who are leading the way on gender equality in the workplace. To further champion gender equality in the workplace, Government set up the Women’s Business Council in 2012, which is delivering a wide range of programmes to tackle discrimination and drive culture change through industry-led solutions to support the advancement of women. Staff representatives play a vital role in supporting their colleagues to address unacceptable attitudes and practices. Acas (the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service) has published guidance for employers on ‘Trade Union Representation in the Workplace’ which is available online at:http://www.acas.org.uk/media/pdf/4/8/Trade-Union-Representation-in-the-Workplace-accessible-version.pdf

Government Equalities Office: Freedom of Information

Peter Grant: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what instructions have been given to staff in the Government Equalities Office dealing with freedom of information requests on the application of Freedom of Information Act Awareness Guidance No. 19, issued by the Information Commissioner's Office, in considering whether to apply the exemptions in section 38 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Caroline Dinenage: No guidance has been issued to staff on the application of Freedom of Information Act Awareness Guidance No.19, issued by the Information Commissioner's Office, about the application of section 38 of the Act. However, the Ministry of Justice has published its own guidance on the use of this exemption. This is available here: http://www.justice.gov.uk/information-access-rights/foi-guidance-for-practitioners/exemptions-guidance

Government Equalities Office: Freedom of Information

Peter Grant: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, on how many occasions the Government Equalities Office applied the exemption in section 38(1)(a) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (disclosure likely to endanger the physical or mental health of any individual) in wholly or partly refusing a freedom of information request in each of the last five years.

Peter Grant: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, on how many occasions the Government Equalities Office applied the exemption in section 38(1)(b) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (disclosure likely to endanger the safety of any individual) in wholly or partly refusing a freedom of information request in each of the last five years.

Caroline Dinenage: Section 38(1)(a) and Section 38(1)(b) of the Freedom of Information Act have not been used by the Government Equalities Office in the last 5 years.

Department for Transport

Uber

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will place in the Library copies of all correspondence between his Department and the technology firm Uber in the last 12 months.

Andrew Jones: We do not usually place copies of private correspondence between the Department and third parties in the House Library.

Network Rail

Lilian Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 2 July 2015 to Question 4666, whether he held a substantive conversation with the Prime Minister prior to 14 April 2015 on Network Rail cost overruns and the potential deferral of major projects.

Claire Perry: The Secretary of State regularly meets with the Prime Minister to discuss a wide range of transport issues.

High Speed 2 Railway Line: West Midlands

Karen Lumley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of the effect of High Speed 2 on jobs in the West Midlands.

Mr Robert Goodwill: HS2 will help to promote economic growth and drive regional regeneration by bringing our major cities closer together, supporting job creation across the country.   HS2 Ltd’s "HS2 Regional Economic Impacts" report published in September 2013 makes a first attempt at quantifying the regional impacts of HS2. The report suggests that the increase in connectivity delivered by HS2 would make the economy more productive and thereby increase annual GDP in the West Midlands by between £1.5bn and £3.1bn.HS2 will directly create construction jobs in the West Midlands, as a result of the construction of the line, the Birmingham Curzon Street station, the Birmingham Interchange station and the Washwood Heath Depot. The detailed breakdown of where the construction jobs will be located is publicly available in the Environmental statement for HS2 Phase 1 (Vol. 2), published in 2013.

Railways: Electrification

Lilian Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 1 July 2015 to Question 4428, what estimate he has made of the cost to Network Rail of cancelling or altering contracts in relation to (a) Midland Main Line electrification and (b) TransPennine electrification.

Claire Perry: Midland Main Line electrification and TransPennine electrification east of Stalybridge have been paused, not cancelled. Where Network Rail has ended contracts pending Sir Peter Hendy’s review of the programme, which is expected in the Autumn, this has been done without incurring any penalty or cost.

Network Rail

Lilian Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what net funding his Department (a) has made and (b) expects to make available to Network Rail in each year of Control Period 5.

Claire Perry: The Department for Transport is making available funds to Network Rail to meet its Control Period 5 commitments from the following three sources:1. Network Grant   This provides funding for Network Rail’s Permitted Business. Payments are made in accordance with Schedule 1 of the Department for Transport – Network Rail Infrastructure Limited Deed of Grant for Control Period 5. Financial YearAnnual grant total2014-15£3,547,169,029.172015-16£3,569, 244,491.022016-17£3,606,597,940.142017-18£3,653,747,782.102018-19£3,284,410,500.67Note: Figures in the above Schedule are given in 2012-13 prices. 2. Loan Funding   The £30.3 billion loan facility agreement signed on 4 July 2014 covers Network Rail’s financing requirements for Control Period 5. Network Rail can draw down funds in different years, subject to business need and the Statement of Parliamentary Supply. In accordance with the terms of the agreement, the loan facility is subject to amendment and is currently set at £30.175 billion. This is the maximum Network Rail can draw down, and includes a £1.8 billion risk buffer. 3. Funding for projects in addition to the agreed Rail Investment Strategy   The latest long-term forecast (June 2015 update) for additional programmes carried out by Network Rail not initially set in the Department’s Rail Investment Strategy is set out in the following table: Financial YearAnnual funding total2014-15£63 million2015-16£94 million2016-17£129 million2017-18£76 million2018-19£87 million

Roads: Accidents

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many road deaths were recorded in (a) Ashfield constituency, (b) Nottinghamshire, (c) the East Midlands and (d) England in each of the last five years.

Andrew Jones: The number of deaths in reported road traffic accidents in(a) Ashfield constituency, (b) Nottinghamshire (including figures for Nottingham City Council), (c) the East Midlands and (d) England from 2010 to 2014 can be found in the table below. 　20102011201220132014Ashfield22344Nottinghamshire (excluding Nottingham City Council)2336322830Nottingham City Council61134East Midlands183187170148169England15531594149114301472  The 2014 figures for England represent nearly a 40% reduction on the 2005 to 2009 average.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Eritrea: Visits Abroad

Patrick Grady: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many Government (a) Ministers and (b) officials have visited Eritrea since 2010; and on which occasions each such visit was made.

James Duddridge: No UK Ministers have visited Eritrea since 2010. The UK Special Representative to Sudan visited in December 2011, and the FCO Migration Director led a delegation of six officials from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Home Office to Eritrea in December 2014. On each visit, UK officials held discussions with their Eritrean counterparts. More junior officials have visited Eritrea regularly during the course of normal diplomatic business.

Ascension Island: Fisheries

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what proportion of commercial fishing around Ascension Island occurred in the outer (a) 25nm of the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), (b) outer 50nm of the EEZ, (c) outer 75nm of the EEZ and (d) outer 100nm of the EEZ.

James Duddridge: Since 2014, no commercial fishing licenses have been issued whilst options for marine management around Ascension Island are considered.However, between 2010 and 2013:a) Fishing took place on 32% of available fishing days in the outer 25nm of the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ)b) Fishing took place on 66% of available fishing days in the outer 50nm of the EEZc) Fishing took place on 79% of available fishing days in the outer 75nm of the EEZd) Fishing took place on 90% of available fishing days in the outer 100nm of the EEZThe above data is generalised and not a definitive amount per area as catch data was reported by vessels weekly, however, only based on a single location per week.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Freedom of Information

Peter Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, on how many occasions his Department applied the exemption in section 38(1)(a) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (disclosure likely to endanger the physical or mental health of any individual) in wholly or partly refusing a freedom of information request in each of the last five years.

Peter Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what instructions have been given to staff in his Department dealing with freedom of information requests on the application of Freedom of Information Act Awareness Guidance No. 19, issued by the Information Commissioner's Office, in considering whether to apply the exemptions in section 38 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Peter Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, on how many occasions his Department applied the exemption in section 38(1)(b) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (disclosure likely to endanger the safety of any individual) in wholly or partly refusing a freedom of information request in each of the last five years.

Mr David Lidington: In the last five years the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has used Section 38 in a total of 94 cases. In 42 cases both sections 38 (1) (a) and (1) (b) were used simultaneously. Section 38 (1) (a) was used in a further nine cases and Section 38 (1) (b) was used in a further 43 cases. The following table provides a breakdown by year: Both38(1)(a)38(1)(b)201486220139042012101122011112162010409In all Freedom of Information (FOI) cases handled by the FCO dedicated FOI case managers provide advice to Desk Officers on the correct application of exemptions. To do this case managers draw on Information Commissioner's Office guidance notes, including Freedom of Information Act Awareness Guidance No19, as well as Freedom of Information Guidance for Practioners provided by the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) and available publicly on the MOJ web-site (https://www.justice.gov.uk/information-access-rights/foi-guidance-for-practitioners).

Colombia: Armed Conflict

Angus Brendan MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent reports he has received of escalation of the conflict in Colombia.

Mr Hugo Swire: According to the Conflict Analysis Resource Centre (CERAC), a local think tank, June was the most violent month since peace talks started in 2012 with a total of 83 FARC attacks recorded. The south west region of Colombia has been worst affected. For example, in Cauca there have been reports of 14 attacks, killing 4 police officers; more than 700 people displaced and damage to the Pan-American Highway. In Nariño and Putumayo, damage to infrastructure has led to significant oil spills, contaminating the water supply. Despite this escalation, negotiations in Havana continue, focusing on victims’ reparation and the end of the conflict. We remain supportive of President Santos’ efforts to negotiate peace with the FARC and recognise the commitment on both sides to bring an end to over 50 years of conflict in Colombia.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Drinks

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how much his private Ministerial office spent on (a) tea and coffee, (b) wine, (c) alcoholic refreshments other than wine and (d) bottled water in the last 12 months for which figures are available.

Mr David Lidington: Spend by the Private Office on tea, coffee and water provided during official meetings in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) totalled £2820.86 in 2014-15. No funds were spent on wine or other alcoholic refreshments for meetings in the FCO. For comparison, the spend in 2009-10 was £7,340.16.It is not possible to give figures for spending on beverages for other official hospitality in the UK or for overseas trips as they are not recorded separately and to identify them would incur disproportionate cost.

Embassies: Drinks

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how much UK embassies spent on (a) tea and coffee, (b) wine, (c) alcoholic refreshments other than wine and (d) bottled water in the last 12 months for which figures are available.

Mr David Lidington: Spend by the Private Office on tea, coffee and water provided during official meetings in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) totalled £2820.86 in 2014-15. No funds were spent on wine or other alcoholic refreshments for meetings in the FCO. For comparison, the spend in 2009-10 was £7,340.16.It is not possible to give figures for spending on beverages for other official hospitality in the UK or for overseas trips as they are not recorded separately and to identify them would incur disproportionate cost.

Egypt: Capital Punishment

Ann Clwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to the Government of Egypt on the court rulings on 16 May 2015 recommending the death penalty for 122 people, including former President Mohamed Morsi, the academic Emad Shahin and other Muslim Brotherhood officials.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: I made a statement on 17 May setting out the Government's deep concern at the sentencing to death of former President Morsi and over 100 others, including Dr Emad Shahin (in absentia) and Muslim Brotherhood officials. I also raised our concerns with the Egyptian Ambassador in London on 17 May. Senior officials have also discussed this case with representatives of the Egyptian government.We have been clear that the Egyptian authorities must apply the rule of law consistently in line with international standards, and protect the political and legal rights of all Egyptians. It is the long-standing policy of the Government to oppose the death penalty in all circumstances as a matter of principle. We note that there are further stages in the legal process, and will continue to follow this case closely.

Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies

Ann Clwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether his Department has made representations to the government of Egypt on the legal action being taken against the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The UK Government is concerned about the decreasing space for civil society to operate in Egypt, including for Non Government Organisations (NGOs) such as the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies. UK officials have raised these concerns, including the case of Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies, with representatives from the Egyptian government in both London and Cairo.The UK Government believes that a free and robust civil society is the bedrock of democracy. We have urged the Egyptian government to ensure full implementation of the provisions for the free operation of civil society, as contained in the constitution, including through a revised NGO law that conforms to international standards and protects freedom of expression.

UK Membership of EU

Deidre  Brock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps the Government plans to take to involve the devolved administrations in its negotiations with the EU and the governments of other EU member states on reform of the UK's terms of membership of the EU in respect of matters that fall wholly or partly within devolved competences.

Mr David Lidington: Relations with the European Union are reserved to the UK Government and Parliament. In line with the Memorandum of Understanding and relevant concordats, the UK Government involves the Devolved Administrations as fully as possible in decision-making on all EU issues which touch on devolved areas. In the last few months the Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron), discussed the UK’s plans on renegotiation and referendum with the First Minister of Scotland, during his visit to Edinburgh; the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), has spoken to Devolved Administration leaders in the margins of the recent British-Irish Council, and this is a regular agenda item at meetings between the UK Government and the Devolved Administrations. The UK Government will continue to involve Devolved Administrations as this process continues.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Travel

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many (a) civil servants and (b) special advisers in his Department are entitled to the use of (i) a car with a dedicated driver, (ii) a car from the Government car pool and (iii) a taxi ordered through a departmental account.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) staff in the UK do not use a car with dedicated driver. FCO Services has a small pool of vehicles and security cleared drivers which are used mainly for transporting Queen's Messengers, diplomatic bags and other classified material. As part of a long-standing arrangement, the Permanent Under-Secretary and other senior officials are able to draw on this pool for official and operationally necessary travel. The FCO does make use of a taxi service provider which FCO staff are entitled to use according to strict policy rules governing the use of taxis for official journeys. FCO policy states that ‘for duty travel staff should use the most efficient means of transport; the use of taxis for official business should be avoided unless it is absolutely necessary, usually when there is no other means of public transport to the destination, or there is a need to transport bulky official materials (not personal luggage) to or from a course, seminar or meeting. FCO Staff are entitled to use a taxi when it is considered the most efficient means of transport. Special Advisers are not entitled to us ethe FCO Services provided small car pool or the departmental taxi provision. The statistical information requested is not held centrally and can only be collated at disproportionate cost.

Official Gifts

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many and what value of gifts were bought for foreign dignitaries visiting UK embassies in the last 12 months for which figures are available.

Mr David Lidington: This information is not readily available and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. Foreign and Commonwealth Office guidance on gift-giving is that staff should ensure that gifts, advantages and hospitality given is appropriate, proportionate and open. Gifts would not normally be given to foreign dignitaries visiting a British Embassy in a third country.

Eritrea: Human Rights

Patrick Grady: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what response the Government has made to the report of the UN Human Rights Council's Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in Eritrea, published in June 2015.

James Duddridge: The Commission of Inquiry’s report was discussed during the recent session of the UN Human Rights Council. In the UK statement we made clear that we shared the Commission’s concerns about human rights in Eritrea and noted that Eritrea continues to fall short of domestic implementation of its international human rights obligations. We urged Eritrea to release all those arbitrarily detained and hold those responsible for violations to account. We will continue to call on the Eritrean Government to honour its obligations through discussions held under the United Nations Universal Periodic Review (UPR) as well as the EU Article 8 Dialogue. We also regularly raise human rights concerns with the Eritrean Government through our bilateral engagement.

India: Hunger Strikes

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent representations he has made to his Indian counterpart on the hunger strike of Bapu Surat Singh in Panjaab, India; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Hugo Swire: We are aware of the case involving the hunger strike of Bapu Surat Singh in India and continue to monitor the situation. With regards to prisoners who have served their sentence, the British High Commission in India have discussed with the Indian authorities the preliminary release of prisoners serving life sentences. However, we understand that the Supreme Court has suspended indefinitely the premature release of life prisoners by State Governments.

Irom Sharmila

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent representations he has made to his Indian counterpart on the hunger strike of Irom Sharmila in Manipur, India; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Hugo Swire: The British High Commission are in regular contact with human rights institutions and Indian non-governmental organisations on a full range of human rights issues. The EU also monitors the situation of human rights defenders in India and raises their situation with the Indian government, either through the EU-India Human Rights dialogue or on an individual case-by-case basis.

India: Sikhs

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his counterpart in the Indian government on the treatment of Sikhs in India.

Mr Hugo Swire: The British High Commission in India regularly discusses the treatment of minorities, including the Sikh community, with the Indian National Commission for Minorities and other relevant State level authorities. The then Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for International Development (Lynne Featherstone), during her visit to India in January also discussed a range of minority issues with India’s Minister of Minority Affairs, Dr Najma Heptulla. We will continue to monitor the situation, and maintain a dialogue with the Indian government and authorities about minority rights issues.

Devinder Pal Singh Bhullar

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his counterpart in the Indian government on the detainment of Devinderpal Singh Bhullar.

Mr Hugo Swire: The British High Commission in India has previously made representations to the Indian authorities about the application of the death penalty, including on the case of Professor Bhullar. We understand that on 31 March 2014, the Supreme Court of India commuted Professor Bhullar’s death sentence to life imprisonment. The continued detention of Professor Bhullar is a matter for the Indian authorities. The UK will continue to monitor cases in India and elsewhere where the death penalty has been given as a sentence.

India: Prisoners

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent representations he has made to his counterpart in the Indian government on ensuring that prisoners in India are released once they have served their prison sentences.

Mr Hugo Swire: The British High Commission in India have discussed the preliminary release of prisoners serving life sentences with the relevant Indian authorities. However, we understand that the Supreme Court has suspended indefinitely the premature release of life prisoners by State Governments. Specific issues of sentencing are a matter for the Indian authorities.

Genocide

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what his policy is towards the proposal by the French government for permanent members of the UN Security Council to suspend use of the veto in cases of alleged genocide.

James Duddridge: The French initiative offers an important contribution to the wider debate on reform of the Security Council and we welcome the interest it has generated. The United Kingdom wholeheartedly supports the principle that the Security Council must act to stop mass atrocities and crimes against humanity. We cannot envisage circumstances where we would use our veto to block such action.

Eritrea

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 6 July 2015 to Question 2508, what discussion his Department has had with UK companies about the UN Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in Eritrea and the use of national service conscripts by foreign-operated companies.

James Duddridge: We have not spoken to any UK companies about the report of the UN Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in Eritrea, published in June. In line with the UK’s Business and Human Rights Action Plan (based upon the UN Guiding Principles) all UK businesses have a responsibility to respect human rights.In the UK’s statement during the UN Human Rights Council discussion of the Commission’s report we made clear that Eritrea must take concrete action to improve the human rights situation in the country, and in particular to fulfil its commitment to limiting national service to 18 months.

Department for International Development

Department for International Development: Freedom of Information

Peter Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, on how many occasions her Department applied the exemption in section 38(1)(a) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (disclosure likely to endanger the physical or mental health of any individual) in wholly or partly refusing a freedom of information request in each of the last five years.

Grant Shapps: Statistics on the use of Freedom of Information exemptions are published by the Ministry of Justice (Table 10 of annual reports). They are available here https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/government-foi-statistics. These statistics provide the number of times section 38 as a whole has been used by each government department. Both sections 38(1)(a) and 38(1)(b) were used by DFID in all such cases.

Department for International Development: Freedom of Information

Peter Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, on how many occasions her Department applied the exemption in section 38(1)(b) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (disclosure likely to endanger the safety of any individual) in wholly or partly refusing a freedom of information request in each of the last five years.

Grant Shapps: Statistics on the use of Freedom of Information exemptions are published by the Ministry of Justice (Table 10 of annual reports). They are available here https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/government-foi-statistics. These statistics provide the number of times section 38 as a whole has been used by each government department. Both sections 38(1)(a) and 38(1)(b) were used by DFID in all such cases.

Department for International Development: Freedom of Information

Peter Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what instructions have been given to staff in her Department dealing with freedom of information requests on the application of Freedom of Information Act Awareness Guidance No. 19, issued by the Information Commissioner's Office, in considering whether to apply the exemptions in section 38 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Grant Shapps: No guidance has been issued to staff on the application of Freedom of Information Act Awareness Guidance No.19, issued by the Information Commissioner's Office, about the application of section 38 of the Act. However, the Ministry of Justice has published its own guidance on the use of this exemption. This is available here: http://www.justice.gov.uk/information-access-rights/foi-guidance-for-practitioners/exemptions-guidance.

Africa: Education

Roger Mullin: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much funding has been devoted to education projects in African countries in each of the last five years.

Grant Shapps: The table below shows UK bilateral Official Development Assistance expenditure for education projects in African countries since 2005:  200520062007200820092010201120122013UK ODA Education Sector Spend to Africa (GBP millions)529117781221217244290351  Source: Statistics in Development database.

Overseas Aid: Climate Change

Mr Gavin Shuker: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department takes to ensure that all UK aid is responsive to climate change and low carbon development.

Grant Shapps: DFID’s responsibilities on climate and environment derive from the International Development Act’s commitment to sustainable development, based on the substantial evidence that poverty eradication is not possible without tackling climate change. Hence all DFID programmes are assessed for climate and environment opportunities and risks. The capacity of staff to do this has also been strengthened through DFID’s ‘Future Fit’ programme which has helped spending departments identify key climate issues in their programmes.  In addition, the UK’s flagship International Climate Fund (ICF) has been used to comprehensively address climate issues through DFID programmes in climate vulnerable sectors such as forestry, water, agriculture and disaster management. The ICF has already helped 15m people cope with the impacts of climate change, and created 39,000 jobs.

Developing Countries: Sustainable Development

Deidre  Brock: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps she plans to take to ensure that the UK makes a contribution to the post-2015 UN agenda on the Millennium Development Goals.

Deidre  Brock: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment she has made of the UK's contribution to the performance of the UN's Millenium Development Goals.

Justine Greening: The MDGs have been an enormous success, helping to focus global attention on poverty and resulting in, for example, extreme poverty being halved, maternal deaths falling by 45% and the under-five deaths dropping from 12m a year to 6m a year. The UK has made a significant contribution to these successes. For example, the UK has supported over 43 million people to access water, sanitation or hygiene interventions; and over 19 million children under 5 and pregnant women to access nutrition programmes. The UK’s binding commitment to 0.7% of GNI for official development assistance is solid evidence of the UK’s leadership on international development. The UK continues to make a strong contribution to the ongoing negotiations in the United Nations to agree the post-2015 Development Agenda in advance of the post-2015 summit in September of this year, building on the Prime Minister’s co-chairing of the High Level Panel. The UK will play its full part in delivering the post-2015 agenda when it is launched in January 2016.

Developing Countries: Females

Mr Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what discussions she has had with Ministerial colleagues on re-establishing the position of Ministerial Champion for Tackling Violence against Women and Girls Overseas.

Justine Greening: As Secretary of State for International Development, I champion this issue every day as part of my broader plan to improve the prospects of women and girls overseas. I am proud of the impact my department has achieved in tackling violence against women and girls, not least through the 2014 Girl Summit which focussed on eradicating Female Genital Mutilation and Early and Forced Child Marriage.

Department for International Development: Travel

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how many (a) civil servants and (b) special advisers in her Department are entitled to the use of a (i) car with a dedicated driver, (ii) car from the Government car pool and (iii) taxi ordered through a departmental account.

Mr Desmond Swayne: Civil servants, including special advisers, may use a taxi or Government car in properly defined circumstances. Information about the use of taxis and Government cars for the most senior civil servants is published on a quarterly basis.

Department for Education

Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education

Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans her Department has to introduce relationship skills to the school curriculum.

Edward Timpson: Sex and relationships education (SRE) is compulsory in all maintained secondary schools and academies are expected to provide SRE as part of a broad and balanced curriculum. All schools should offer high quality relationships education and build a curriculum that meets the needs of their students.   Any school teaching SRE must have regard to the Secretary of State’s Sex and Relationship Education Guidance (2000). The guidance makes clear that all sex and relationship education should be age-appropriate and that schools should ensure young people develop positive values and a moral framework that will guide their decisions, judgments and behaviour.   In order to support teaching about healthy relationships, the PSHE Association has developed non-statutory guidance for schools about the topic of consent, which was published in March 2015 and can be found at www.pshe-association.org.uk. We strongly welcome this guidance. The PSHE Association’s guidance will help teachers establish the legal framework around consent and supports the government’s ‘This is Abuse’ campaign, which helps educate young people about damaging behaviours within relationships.

Social Services: Children

James Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to support Sandwell Children's services to improve by their next inspection.

James Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what her Department is doing to ensure children's services rated as inadequate can be improved and begin to achieve their targets.

James Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans the Government has to support children's services in (a) Sandwell MBC and (b) other areas which have been declared as inadequate.

James Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps the Government is taking in response to children's services in Sandwell being declared inadequate; and what steps the Government is taking to ensure children's services can perform to a good standard.

Edward Timpson: The Department for Education takes any failure to deliver services at the required level extremely seriously. The department is currently considering all the available evidence in order to act in a way which provides sustainable improvements for the children of Sandwell, ensuring that the services received by children, young people and their families improve to the required level. The department believes that Sandwell has had sufficient time to make the necessary improvements. Sandwell was originally rated as ‘inadequate’ by Ofsted in January 2010. During the five years in which Sandwell has been subject to intervention arrangements, a large number of local authorities have managed to improve their services to meet the required standard.The department currently intervenes in 20 local authorities in which children’s social care services have been identified by Ofsted as failing children and young people. The interventions include a range of strategies, from enhanced oversight by department officials, independent advisors or commissioners, through to more extreme cases which have required the department to remove services from the local authority’s control. The level of support provided will depend on the scale of the issues identified by Ofsted and the capacity of the authority to address them.

Adoption

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 8 June 2015 to Question 1001, if her Department will provide extra funds to support those local authorities that have a higher number of children on their adoption list.

Edward Timpson: The Department for Education has asked local authorities and voluntary adoption agencies to set out the support they need to facilitate the move to regional adoption agencies. The department has invited expressions of interest to be submitted by 7 September. This will inform how the £4.5 million funding available for 2015-16 is used. The government has also announced an additional £30 million of funding starting from July 2015, to cover the fees that local authorities have to pay when families are found from other areas. This investment is targeted specifically at finding homes for almost 3,000 children who are still waiting for adoption, despite there being sufficient numbers of adopters available nationally. Local authorities with higher numbers of children waiting stand to benefit most from this measure.

Adoption

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 8 June 2015 to Question 1001, how the assessment will be undertaken and when the assessment of costs and savings to local government will be completed.

Edward Timpson: Creating regional adoption agencies will improve the efficiency of adoption services and increase the scale at which services are operating. This is expected to lead to longer term savings for local authorities through efficiency gains as they realise economies of scale, and deliver improvements in the timeliness of adoptions. The Department for Education is providing £4.5 million in order to support the transition to regional adoption agencies in 2015-16.  As part of this work, the department will assess and evaluate the costs and savings resulting from the measures. We have asked local authorities and voluntary adoption agencies to give us an early indication of the financial and practical support they expect to need for transition by the end of July, and have invited expressions of interest to be submitted by 7 September.

Adoption

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 10 June 2015 to Question 1002, in which other situations her Department plans to use such powers.

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 10 June 2015 to Question 1002, whether her Department plans to use its powers in all cases where local authorities are unwilling to join regional adoption agencies.

Edward Timpson: The government’s intention is that, as far as possible, the sector should move to regional adoption agencies voluntarily and make their own decisions about what those arrangements look like. This year, we are providing £4.5 million in financial and practical support in order to help agencies come together to form regional adoption agencies. This sector-led approach will mean the changes build on existing relationships and have the support of those involved, while responding to the characteristics and needs of the local area. For local authorities that are unwilling or unable to join regional adoption agencies, we will look to use our powers to direct them to be involved wherever necessary and appropriate.The government has also announced an additional £30 million of funding available for twelve months, starting from July 2015, to cover the fees that local authorities have to pay when families are found from other areas. This investment is targeted specifically at finding homes for almost 3, 000 children who are still waiting for adoption, despite there being sufficient numbers of adopters available nationally. Local authorities with higher numbers of children waiting stand to benefit most from this measure.

Department for Education: Freedom of Information

Peter Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what instructions have been given to staff in her Department dealing with freedom of information requests on the application of Freedom of Information Act Awareness Guidance No. 19, issued by the Information Commissioner's Office, in considering whether to apply the exemptions in section 38 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Nick Gibb: No guidance has been issued to staff on the application of Freedom of Information Act Awareness Guidance No.19, issued by the Information Commissioner's Office, about the application of section 38 of the Act. However, the Ministry of Justice has published guidance on the use of this exemption, which is available at:www.justice.gov.uk/information-access-rights/foi-guidance-for-practitioners/exemptions-guidance

Department for Education: Freedom of Information

Peter Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, on how many occasions her Department applied the exemption in section 38(1)(a) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (disclosure likely to endanger the physical or mental health of any individual) in wholly or partly refusing a freedom of information request in each of the last five years.

Peter Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, on how many occasions her Department applied the exemption in section 38(1)(b) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (disclosure likely to endanger the safety of any individual) in wholly or partly refusing a freedom of information request in each of the last five years.

Nick Gibb: Section 38(1)(a) and section 38(1)(b) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 were used by the Department for Education on the following numbers of occasions in each of the last 5 years: Years38 (a) and (b)s38(a) onlys38(b) only2010---20111--201221-2013---2014-1-20154-1

Teachers: Recruitment

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent estimate she has made of the amount spent annually by schools on agencies used to recruit teachers.

Nick Gibb: Information on the income and expenditure of local authorities and schools (including academies) can be found in the Department for Education’s local authority and school finance data publications, available online at: www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-local-authority-school-finance-data

Department for Education: Drinks

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much her private Ministerial office spent on (a) tea and coffee, (b) wine, (c) alcoholic refreshments other than wine and (d) bottled water in the last 12 months for which figures are available.

Nick Gibb: We do not hold separate information for each ministerial office. All expenditure is incurred in accordance with the principles of Managing Public Money and the Treasury handbook on Regularity and Propriety.

Department for Education: Travel

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many (a) civil servants and (b) special advisers in her Department are entitled to the use of a (i) car with a dedicated driver, (ii) car from the Government car pool and (iii) taxi ordered through a departmental account.

Nick Gibb: There are no civil servants or special advisers entitled to the use of (i) a car with a dedicated driver or (ii) a car from the government car pool. Civil servants and special advisers are discouraged from using a taxi unless there are special circumstances.

Pupils: West Yorkshire

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much funding is received per pupil in (a) Leeds North West constituency and (b) West Yorkshire.

Mr Sam Gyimah: Information on SBUFs for all LAs and regions for financial year 2015 to 2016 can be found at this link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dedicated-schools-grant-dsg-2015-to-2016

Pre-school Education

Karen Lumley: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential benefits of a national funding formula for early years education.

Mr Sam Gyimah: The government understands the importance of funding that secures the effective and efficient delivery of early years education. We are aware that there are historical inconsistencies and inefficiencies with the current funding system for the three- and four-year entitlement. The government is committed to early education funding which is simple, transparent and maximises funding reaching the front line. Our long term objective is to make funding truly fair.

Schools: Nottinghamshire

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent estimate she has made of the number of temporary classrooms in Nottinghamshire Local Education Authority area in each of the last six years.

Edward Timpson: The Department for Education does not hold an estimate of the number of temporary classrooms in Nottinghamshire.   The department does collect information from each local authority on the number of school places (school capacity) in state-funded primary and secondary schools (except special schools) as part of the annual School Capacity Collection. The department also collects information on the condition of the school estate through the Property Data Survey. These data collections do not specifically identify the number of temporary classrooms.   Nottinghamshire has been allocated a total of £66.7m between 2011/12 and 2017/18 for new school places. It has also received condition allocations towards the upkeep of its buildings, with an expected allocation of £36.8m between 2014 and 2018.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Dogs: Smuggling

Angela Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will implement the recommendations of the Dogs' Trust report, The Puppy Smuggling Scandal, published in November 2014.

George Eustice: The Dogs Trust’s report highlights that responsibility for stopping the illegal movement of puppies begins in the country where they are born. The UK Chief Veterinary Officer has written to the authorities in the countries highlighted in the report to remind them of their duty to ensure that the welfare of pets intended for sale is safeguarded. Investigations were launched in both countries and appropriate action was taken against vets found to be at fault, including the suspension of licences. We will continue to alert the authorities in any Member State where we become aware of issues in relation to the operation of the pet travel scheme.   The UK carries out more checks on pets at the border than most other EU member states and stringent penalties are in place where people are found to be breaking the rules.   The illegal trade is driven by demand for cheap, pedigree puppies and we have published guidance on the steps pet owners can take to avoid buying an illegally imported pet. See: https://www.gov.uk/buying-a-cat-or-dog.

Agriculture: Subsidies

Albert Owen: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the extent to which poor broadband access prevents farmers to accessing online CAP applications.

George Eustice: The rollout of superfast broadband is a key priority. The £778m Superfast Broadband Programme will provide 95% of UK premises with access to superfast broadband by the end of 2017. The RPA online system had been designed to operate on older dial-up internet connection speeds. In addition, many farmers in rural areas have affordable access to satellite broadband connection and the RPA had mobile satellite units to assist those in very hard to reach areas. In 2015, farmers were given the option of paper-based application.

Organophosphates

Sir Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what studies her Department has commissioned or reviewed on the long-term health effects of organophosphates.

Sir Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if her Department will take steps to address concerns raised by the Sheep Dip Sufferers Support Group about the long-term health effects of organophosphates.

George Eustice: In 2000 a research call was made by the [then] Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food in collaboration with the Department of Health, the Health & Safety Executive and the Medical Research Council, to address recommendations made by the Committee on Toxicity in its 1999 report, entitled “Organophosphates”. As a result, six research projects were commissioned, together with a seventh on the effects of organophosphates on children, and by in utero exposure.In subsequent years, this Department commissioned ten other research projects; altogether, the 17 research projects cost £4 million and were considered by the Committee on Toxicity during a scientific literature search carried out for a statement on organophosphates and human health, released in March 2014. This statement focused on whether or not adverse neurological, neuropsychological or neuropsychiatric effects can result from exposure of adults to cholinesterase-inhibiting organophosphates at levels insufficient to cause overt acute poisoning.In the recent Westminster Hall debate, I agreed to meet members of the Sheep Dip Sufferers Support Group, and to hear their concerns.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Freedom of Information

Peter Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what instructions have been given to staff in her Department dealing with freedom of information requests on the application of Freedom of Information Act Awareness Guidance No. 19, issued by the Information Commissioner's Office, in considering whether to apply the exemptions in section 38 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

George Eustice: No guidance has been issued to staff in my Department on the application of Guidance No.19 produced by the Information Commissioner's Office concerning section 38 of the Freedom of Information Act. The Ministry of Justice has published guidance on the use of this exemption:   http://www.justice.gov.uk/information-access-rights/foi-guidance-for-practitioners/exemptions-guidance.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Freedom of Information

Peter Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, on how many occasions her Department applied the exemption in section 38(1)(a) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (disclosure likely to endanger the physical or mental health of any individual) in wholly or partly refusing a freedom of information request in each of the last five years.

Peter Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, on how many occasions her Department applied the exemption in section 38(1)(b) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (disclosure likely to endanger the safety of any individual) in wholly or partly refusing a freedom of information request in each of the last five years.

George Eustice: The Ministry of Justice has published information on the number of occasions that Defra has applied the exemption in Section 38(1) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 in the last 5 years. This is available in table 10 of the annual reports:   https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/423487/foi-statistics-oct-dec-2014-annual.pdf Defra does not hold figures on the use of sections 38(1) (a) and (b) individually.

Oilseed Rape

Mike Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions she has had on health effects of the cultivation of oilseed rape with the (a) Secretary of State for Health, (b) Secretary of State for Scotland and (c) Scottish Government.

George Eustice: I have had no recent discussions on this issue.

Department for Energy and Climate Change

Wind Power: Subsidies

Callum McCaig: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what assessment her Department has made of the potential effect on consumer energy bills of the decision to close the Renewables Obligation for onshore wind.

Andrea Leadsom: We do not expect consumer bills to rise as a result of our proposals to end new subsidies for onshore wind. Indeed, those onshore wind projects unlikely now to go ahead would have cost hundreds of millions of pounds in Renewables Obligation (RO) subsidy over their lifetime. This Government is committed to bringing about the transition to low carbon generation as cost effectively and securely as possible.

Department of Energy and Climate Change: Public Appointments

Margaret Hodge: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, if she will place in the Library a list of all public appointments made by her Department between 1 January 2015 and 1 May 2015.

Andrea Leadsom: Under the Code of Practice for Ministerial Appointments to Public Bodies April 2012, government departments are required to publicise successful appointments.Public appointments made by the Department are either published on the Department or the relevant public bodies’ website. Between 1 January 2015 and 1 May 2015 appointments were published on the Departments website and on the Fuel Poverty Advisory Groups website:https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-of-energy-climate-change;https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/the-fuel-poverty-advisory-group.

Renewable Energy: Investment

Matthew Pennycook: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, if she will make a comparative estimate of per capita investment in the renewable energy sector by the UK and (a) Germany, (b) China and (c) the EU average.

Andrea Leadsom: According to Bloomberg New Energy Finance, the UK has benefitted from over £53bn of private sector investment in the renewable energy market (Biomass & Waste, Geothermal, Marine, Small Hydro, Solar and Wind) since 2004. This equates to an average of £79 per capita per year. In the same period, around £133bn was invested in Germany at an average of £148 per capita per year and £244bn was invested in China at an average of £16 per capita per year. The European average for the same period is £78 per capita per year.In 2014 there was over £8bn of private sector investment in the UK equivalent to £132 per capita, compared to £97 for Germany and £36 for China. The European average was £60.Source - Bloomberg New Energy Finance, Eurostat and UN

Hinkley Point C Power Station

Callum McCaig: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what estimate she has made of the level of subsidy which the proposed new nuclear power plant at Hinkley Point is projected to require over its lifetime.

Andrea Leadsom: The level of top-up payments depends on many variables including the wholesale price and load factors.

Wind Power: Scotland

Callum McCaig: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what consultation the UK Government has conducted with the Scottish Government on changes to UK-wide subsidy for onshore wind and onshore wind investment in Scotland.

Andrea Leadsom: I refer the hon. Member to my rt. hon. Friends the Secretary of State’s statement to the House on onshore wind subsidies on 22 June 2015, Official Report, Column 618:“In advance of this announcement, I and other Ministers and officials discussed the proposals with the devolved Administrations in Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland. We want to hear the further views of the devolved administrations, as well as of industry and other stakeholders. This is just the beginning of the process, and we will continue to consult them as we move towards implementation.” [1]  [1] http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201516/cmhansrd/cm150622/debtext/150622-0001.htm

Department of Energy and Climate Change: Freedom of Information

Peter Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, on how many occasions her Department applied the exemption in section 38(1)(a) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (disclosure likely to endanger the physical or mental health of any individual) in wholly or partly refusing a freedom of information request in each of the last five years.

Andrea Leadsom: Statistics on the use of Freedom of Information exemptions are published by the Ministry of Justice (Table 10 of annual reports). They are available here:https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/government-foi-statistics. These statistics provide the number of times section 38 as a whole has been used by each government department. More detailed figures for the constituent parts of section 38 are not readily available because our systems are not designed to provide a more detailed breakdown than is required for the published statistics.

Department of Energy and Climate Change: Freedom of Information

Peter Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what instructions have been given to staff in her Department dealing with freedom of information requests on the application of Freedom of Information Act Awareness Guidance No. 19, issued by the Information Commissioner's Office, in considering whether to apply the exemptions in section 38 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Andrea Leadsom: No guidance has been issued to staff on the application of Freedom of Information Act Awareness Guidance No.19, issued by the Information Commissioner's Office, about the application of section 38 of the Act. However, the Ministry of Justice has published its own guidance on the use of this exemption. This is available here: http://www.justice.gov.uk/information-access-rights/foi-guidance-for-practitioners/exemptions-guidance.

Department of Energy and Climate Change: Freedom of Information

Peter Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, on how many occasions her Department applied the exemption in section 38(1)(b) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (disclosure likely to endanger the safety of any individual) in wholly or partly refusing a freedom of information request in each of the last five years.

Andrea Leadsom: Statistics on the use of Freedom of Information exemptions are published by the Ministry of Justice (Table 10 of annual reports). They are available here:https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/government-foi-statistics. These statistics provide the number of times section 38 as a whole has been used by each government department. More detailed figures for the constituent parts of section 38 are not readily available because our systems are not designed to provide a more detailed breakdown than is required for the published statistics.

Coal: Imports

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what recent assessment she has made of the environmental effects of importing coal.

Andrea Leadsom: The import and export of commodities such as coal contributes to competition and security of supply, which has benefits for energy consumers. In 2014, around 80% of the coal consumed in the UK was imported, with the remainder mined domestically. Electricity generators accounted for 80% of total coal use in 2014 [1]. The decision on where to source their fuel is a commercial decision for the operators of power stations.The carbon emissions associated with the transport of imported coal will depend on its country of origin. However, when considered alongside the carbon emitted over the life cycle of the coal, we would expect transport emissions to be a small proportion of the total.[1] DECC Energy Trends March 2015 https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/415976/ET_Mar_15.PDF

Energy: Seas and Oceans

Richard Drax: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, whether it is her policy to include the 2009 Offshore Energy Strategic Environmental Assessment as a material consideration in planning decisions on National Infrastructure projects.

Andrea Leadsom: In determining planning applications for nationally significant infrastructure projects, my rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State takes into consideration the policies set out in the energy National Policy Statements which, where appropriate, reflect the Offshore Energy Strategic Environmental Assessment undertaken by DECC in 2009.

Carbon Sequestration

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what estimate she has made of how many GW of carbon capture and storage capacity will be installed in the UK by (a) 2020, (b) 2025 and (c) 2030.

Andrea Leadsom: Holding answer received on 08 July 2015



The Government is committed to helping realise the potential of Carbon Capture and Storage, and is investing £1bn to help commercialise it through the CCS Competition. The Government is currently providing the majority of funding for engineering and design studies for two UK-based projects which, if they were to proceed to construction, would result in the generation of around 0.6GW of carbon free electricity by the end of the decade.DECC publishes scenarios for a range of technologies, including CCS, as part of its annual energy projections. The projections are available at:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/updated-energy-and-emissions-projections-2014.

Carbon Sequestration

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how much the Government has spent to support carbon capture and storage technology in each year since 2010-11.

Andrea Leadsom: Holding answer received on 08 July 2015



The Government has in place a comprehensive programme of financial support for CCS, comprising R&D and innovation funding, support for commercialisation through the £1bn CCS Competition, and work to develop an enabling policy environment for power and industrial CCS in the UK and internationally. We are currently negotiating the first Contract for Difference for CCS as part of the Competition.Since 2010/11, Government has spent the following in support of Carbon Capture and Storage technology:£55.96million between 2010 and 2012;£9.79million in 2012/13;£24.74million in 2013/14; and£54.99million in 2014/15.

Carbon Sequestration

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what recent steps she has taken to encourage co-operation between EU countries on the development of carbon capture and storage technology.

Andrea Leadsom: Holding answer received on 08 July 2015



The UK works actively in Europe and internationally to advance the development of CCS technologies. We maintain regular dialogue with other EU Member States. The UK played a leading role in securing CCS’s place in a technology neutral approach to meeting our joint 2030 climate and energy targets. Last month we hosted the Government Group of the European Technology Platform for Zero Emission Fossil Fuel Power Plants (ZEP) at which we showcased the work of the Teesside Collective in developing an industrial CCS project, as well as the UK CCS competition projects. In May, we submitted a joint bid with seven other Member States plus Norway to pool our CCS research and development budgets and leverage further funding from the European Commission. The UK has also successfully pushed for the Commission to set up a new cross-Europe group from this Autumn to promote CO2 transport network projects which could access funding from the Connecting Europe Facility.

Carbon Sequestration

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what recent steps her Department has taken to support the development of carbon capture and storage for industrial processes and manufacturing.

Andrea Leadsom: Holding answer received on 08 July 2015



DECC and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) have jointly taken a number of steps to support the development of industrial carbon capture and storage.In 2014 the Government commissioned and published a techno-economic study (“Demonstrating CO2 capture in the UK cement, chemicals, iron and steel and oil refining sectors by 2025: A Techno-economic Study by Element Energy, PSE, Imperial College London and University of Sheffield”) which identified the most relevant technologies for industrial CCS in each sector that can be implemented by 2025, alongside their costs and technology readiness levels.DECC and BIS held workshops with stakeholders from energy intensive industry, CCS industry and academics in November 2014 to review the findings of the techno-economic study.DECC funded the Tees Valley Unlimited local enterprise partnership to undertake a series of feasibility studies into an industrial carbon capture and storage scheme for the Tees Valley industrial cluster, capturing carbon dioxide from four industrial installations: SSI steel, BOC hydrogen, Growhow ammonia and Lotte plastics. The results were published in July 2015.In March 2015, DECC and BIS jointly published the results of the eighteen month collaborative Industrial 2050 Roadmaps project (by Parsons Brinckerhoff and DNV-GL) covering the iron vand steel, cement, chemical, ceramics, glass, paper and pulp, food and drink, and oil refining sectors. The results concluded that industrial carbon capture and storage technologies could deliver over 20 million tonnes CO2 abatement per year by 2050, in particular from the iron and steel, cement, chemical and oil refining sector.

Wind Power: Subsidies

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what estimate she has made of how the number of people employed in the UK onshore wind industry may be affected by the removal of the wind energy subsidy.

Andrea Leadsom: It is very difficult to predict exactly how much of the onshore wind pipeline would have come forward without the measures proposed to close the Renewables Obligation to onshore wind, and therefore to make an assessment on jobs affected.We will consider carefully the level of investment developers are likely to bring forward under proposals announced on 18th June.We currently have enough projects in the pipeline to meet our 2020 renewable electricity objective of between 11-13GW of onshore wind capacity while remaining within the limits of what is affordable. This pipeline of projects will deliver new jobs across the UK.

Energy: Prices

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what steps she will take to ensure that energy bills do not rise as a result of the withdrawal of the onshore wind energy subsidy.

Andrea Leadsom: We do not expect consumer bills to rise as a result of our proposals to end new subsidies for onshore wind. Indeed, those onshore wind projects unlikely now to go ahead would have cost hundreds of millions of pounds in Renewables Obligation (RO) subsidy over their lifetime. This Government is committed to bringing about the transition to low carbon generation as cost effectively and securely as possible.

Wind Power: Subsidies

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what assessment she has made of the potential effect of the removal of onshore windfarm subsidy on the UK's ability to meet renewables targets.

Andrea Leadsom: The UK is continuing to make progress towards the 2020 renewables target of 15% of final energy consumption from renewable sources. We are on track to meet the next interim target for 2013/14, with provisional figures showing 6.3% of final energy consumption came from renewable sources, against a target level of 5.4%.The Government has set out its plan to meet the target, including an ambition for at least 30% of electricity demand to be met by renewable sources. This includes between 11 – 13 GW of electricity to be provided by onshore wind by 2020. We have enough onshore wind in the pipeline, including projects that have planning permission, to deliver this.

Nuclear Power Stations

Dr Alan Whitehead: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what estimate she has made of the (a) number of new nuclear plants planned by 2028, (b) projected capacity of each such plant, (c) the projected timetable for commissioning each such plant and the projected date by which each new plant will be producing power and (d) projected level of the price set in the Contracts for Difference for each of those plants that together will provide up to 35 per cent of UK power needs from nuclear power stations by 2028.

Andrea Leadsom: It is the Government’s aim to receive proposals to develop new nuclear power stations on all eight sites listed in the Nuclear National Policy Statement published in 2011. So far we have received formal proposals for new nuclear power stations for five sites – Hinkley (3.3 GW), Wylfa (2.7 GW), Moorside (3.3 GW), Sizewell (3.3 GW) and Oldbury (2.7 GW). We expect all these new nuclear power stations to come into operation during the 2020s and early 2030s. Under the Contract for Difference for Hinkley the Strike Price will be £89.50/MWh (in 2012 prices), or £92.50 if a final investment decision is not taken on Sizewell. It is too soon to say what the Strike Price might be for future projects.

Attorney General

Crown Prosecution Service

Simon Danczuk: To ask the Attorney General, if he will review the position of the incumbent Director of Public Prosecutions in view of the recent decision to charge Lord Janner.

Jeremy Wright: An error has been identified in the written answer given on 09 July 2015.The correct answer should have been:

Decisions on whether or not to bring criminal charges are taken by prosecutors who are independent from government and independent from Parliament. I am confident of the independence and the integrity of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Alison Saunders, in making the difficult judgements the job of a prosecutor involves.The Victims’ Right to Review, which Alison Saunders helped to bring in, allows any victim of crime who is dissatisfied with a decision taken by a prosecutor not to proceed with their case to ask for the decision to be reviewed. This review has operated as it was designed to in the case of Greville Janner.We are world leaders in offering that safeguard for victims and since Alison Saunders has been DPP, the CPS has prosecuted and convicted more child sex offenders than ever before. In the year to 31st December 2014, the Law Officers personally considered 469 cases and referred 128 offenders to the Court of Appeal under the unduly lenient sentence scheme. Leave was granted by the Court in 95% of cases which included some of the most serious violent and sexual offences, including murder, rape and sexual assault.The Attorney General’s Office publishes statistics for unduly lenient sentences at the end of the calendar year. This is to ensure that the figures are released in a consistent format and are accurate and quality assured. Unduly lenient sentences statistics for 2013 and 2014 are published on the Attorney General’s Office website - www.gov.uk/government/organisations/attorney-generals-office.

Jeremy Wright: Decisions on whether or not to bring criminal charges are taken by prosecutors who are independent from government and independent from Parliament. I am confident of the independence and the integrity of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Alison Saunders, in making the difficult judgements the job of a prosecutor involves.The Victims’ Right to Review, which Alison Saunders helped to bring in, allows any victim of crime who is dissatisfied with a decision taken by a prosecutor not to proceed with their case to ask for the decision to be reviewed. This review has operated as it was designed to in the case of Greville Janner.We are world leaders in offering that safeguard for victims and since Alison Saunders has been DPP, the CPS has prosecuted and convicted more child sex offenders than ever before. In the year to 31st December 2014, the Law Officers personally considered 469 cases and referred 128 offenders to the Court of Appeal under the unduly lenient sentence scheme. Leave was granted by the Court in 95% of cases which included some of the most serious violent and sexual offences, including murder, rape and sexual assault.The Attorney General’s Office publishes statistics for unduly lenient sentences at the end of the calendar year. This is to ensure that the figures are released in a consistent format and are accurate and quality assured. Unduly lenient sentences statistics for 2013 and 2014 are published on the Attorney General’s Office website - www.gov.uk/government/organisations/attorney-generals-office.

Wales Office

Wales Office: Freedom of Information

Peter Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, on how many occasions his Department applied the exemption in section 38(1)(a) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (disclosure likely to endanger the physical or mental health of any individual) in wholly or partly refusing a freedom of information request in each of the last five years.

Peter Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, on how many occasions his Department applied the exemption in section 38(1)(b) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (disclosure likely to endanger the safety of any individual) in wholly or partly refusing a freedom of information request in each of the last five years.

Alun Cairns: Wales Office statistics on the use of Freedom of Information exemptions are published by the Ministry of Justice (Table 10 of annual reports), and are available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/government-foi-statistics.These statistics provide the number of times section 38 as a whole has been used by each government department. More detailed figures for the constituent parts of section 38 are not readily available because our systems are not designed to provide a more detailed breakdown than is required for the published statistics.

Wales Office: Freedom of Information

Peter Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what instructions have been given to staff in his Department dealing with freedom of information requests on the application of Freedom of Information Act Awareness Guidance No. 19, issued by the Information Commissioner's Office, in considering whether to apply the exemptions in section 38 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Alun Cairns: No guidance has been issued to Wales Office staff on the application of Freedom of Information Act Awareness Guidance No.19, issued by the Information Commissioner's Office, about the application of section 38 of the Act. However, the Ministry of Justice as the lead Department on Freedom of Information requests has published its own guidance on the use of this exemption. This is available here: http://www.justice.gov.uk/information-access-rights/foi-guidance-for-practitioners/exemptions-guidance.

Ministry of Justice

Ministry of Justice: Redundancy

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many employees in his Department have been (a) made redundant or (b) offered redundancy since 7 May 2015.

Mr Shailesh Vara: Since 7 May 2015, there has only been 1 voluntary redundancy where the individual has left the Ministry of Justice. One further offer has been made and an outcome is awaited. The number of staff that actually took an Exit by either Compulsory Redundancy or ‘Other Exit’ including Voluntary Redundancy within the Ministry of Justice including its Executive Agencies is published each year within the ‘Ministry of Justice Annual Report and Accounts’. The most recent ‘Annual Report and Accounts’ covering 2014-15 can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/434016/moj-annual-report-and-accounts-2014-15.pdf Accounts for 2015/16 will be published in the usual way during June 2016, which will include the numbers of actual redundancies during this period.

Employment and Support Allowance: Appeals

Colleen Fletcher: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many appellants in (a) Coventry, (b) the West Midlands and (c) England are waiting for the Tribunals Service to list their first-tier tribunal social security and child support appeal in respect of employment and support allowance.

Mr Shailesh Vara: The First-tier Tribunal – Social Security and Child Support (SSCS) administered by HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS), hears appeals against Department for Work and Pensions’ (DWP) decisions on a range of benefits. There are always a number of ‘live’ appeals at the various stages of processing before being listed for a tribunal hearing, and not just those waiting for a listing date to be allocated. The data also includes appeals which may not require a final hearing; have had an initial hearing but have not had a final decision; or are stayed, pending the outcome of other proceedings. As at 26 June 2015 there were a total of 124 ESA appeals waiting to be heard in the Coventry venues; for the West Midlands1, ,735; and for England2 ,11,249. 1 West Midlands includes the following venues: Birmingham, Coventry, Hereford, Kidderminster, Leamington Spa, Nuneaton, Shrewsbury, Solihull, Stoke, Walsall, Wolverhampton and Worcester.2 Excludes SSCS Scotland processing centre and the following venues Aberystwyth, Bridgend, Cardiff, Caernarfon, Carmarthen, Colwyn Bay, Cwmbran, Haverfordwest, Llandrindod Wells, Langstone, Llandudno, Llanelli, Llangefni, Llwynypia, Merthyr Tydfil, Neath,Port Talbot, Newtown, Pontypridd, Pontypool, Prestatyn, Swansea, Welshpool, Wrexham, Bargoed and Ebbw Vale Data are drawn from a live administrative database. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the data, the details are subject to inaccuracies inherent in any large-scale recording system and the best data that are available.

Courts: Debt Collection

Cat Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when the business case for the privatisation of the collection and enforcement of fines compensation and other charges imposed by the criminal courts will be published.

Mr Shailesh Vara: The procurement process for an external provider for compliance and enforcement services is bound by commercial confidentiality and as such specifics relating to the preferred bidder’s solution detailed in the project’s business case cannot be shared.

Courts: Debt Collection

Cat Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what payment methods will be available for people to pay fines, compensation and other charges imposed by the criminal courts under the contract for that service with a private provider.

Mr Shailesh Vara: The contract for compliance and enforcement services has not yet been awarded. The payment methods available for people to pay financial impositions will be agreed once a contract has been awarded.

Prisons: Food

Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much (a) lamb, (b) beef, (c) pork and (d) poultry meat is purchased annually for consumption in prisons; and what proportion of each type of meat is British.

Andrew Selous: For the period February 2014 to January 2015 the following volumes were purchased MeatTotal (Kg)Proportion from UK(a) Lamb236,83822%(b) Beef753,25824%(c) Pork653,93851%(d) Poultry2,570,75051%

Legal Aid Scheme: Mental Illness

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will take steps to increase access to legal aid for people with a mental illness.

Mr Shailesh Vara: I refer the honourable member to the answer given on Monday 22 June 2015.http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2015-06-15/2474/

Inquiries

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to introduce a parliamentary mechanism for initiating judicial inquiries.

Caroline Dinenage: Judge led inquiries can be established either under the framework provided by the Inquiries Act 2005 or on a non statutory basis.

Prisoners' Release

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 2 July 2015 to Question 3689, how many prisoners that were selected for the national community service volunteers scheme and were released for up to four weeks (a) committed an offence on their release, (b) failed to attend the programme and (c) breached the conditions of their temporary licence in each of the last five years.

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 2 July 2015 to Question 3689, how many prisoners have been selected for the national community service volunteers scheme to be released for up to four weeks in each of the last five years.

Andrew Selous: Data on the number of prisoners released on temporary licence under the Community Service Volunteers scheme is not held centrally.

Ministry of Justice: Freedom of Information

Peter Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what instructions have been given to staff in his Department dealing with freedom of information requests on the application of Freedom of Information Act Awareness Guidance No. 19, issued by the Information Commissioner's Office, in considering whether to apply the exemptions in section 38 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Dominic Raab: The Ministry of Justice has published its own guidance on the use of this exemption. This is available here: http://www.justuce.gov.uk/information-access-rights/foi-guidance-for-practitioners/exemptions-guidance

Fraud

Mr Gavin Shuker: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether the proposed offence of failure to prevent economic crime is intended to have extra-territorial effect where a UK link can be proven.

Mike Penning: The UK Anti-Corruption Plan, published in December 2014, tasks the Ministry of Justice to examine the case for a new offence of a corporate failure to prevent economic crime and the rules on establishing corporate criminal liability more widely. This work is progressing and any announcements on decisions will be made in due course.

Secure Colleges

Suella Fernandes: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what progress his Department has made on the plans for a Secure College.

Andrew Selous: The Coalition Government originally legislated for Secure Colleges as a way to deliver better education in the youth justice system. This Government is also completely committed to improving the quality of education enjoyed by young offenders. This is one of the Government's top priorities. But the nature of the challenge has changed. The youth custody population has fallen from 1,349 in January 2013 to 999 in April 2015, a fall of 26%. A Secure College could have been desirable with a larger population, but it would not be right to house one third of the entire youth offender population in one setting. It would also be a mistake to press ahead with such a development when resources are so tight. We are therefore not going ahead with the creation of a secure college pathfinder. All work on the proposed secure college pathfinder at Glen Parva has now ceased.

Courts: Fines

Mr Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether the decision to award the contract to collect court fines will be made by his Department or by the Courts and Tribunals Service; and whether that body will take into account the performance of Synnex Concentrix in its contract with HM Revenue and Customs when deciding whether to award that company the contract to collect court fines.

Mr Shailesh Vara: The decision as to whether or not to award a contract will be made by the Department. Past performance is being considered in accordance with the Public Contracts Regulations.

Cabinet Office

Electoral Register: Young People

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what targets his Department has set for the electoral registration of young people; and whether his Department has plans to assess the potential merits of any auto-enrolment schemes for that purpose.

John Penrose: Individual Electoral Registration (IER) and online registration were introduced in Great Britain last year, replacing the outdated system of household registration. Online registration has proved popular: over three quarters of the 9.6 million applications to register to vote made since June 2014 have been submitted online. Since June 2014, over 2.2 million applications have been received from 16-24 year olds. The Government strongly supports the principle underlying IER, that people must make an individual application to register to vote, and is currently examining the results of prompted enrolment schemes such as the one recently undertaken at Sheffield University, to see if they have wider application.

Solar Power: Public Sector

Michelle Donelan: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will take steps to identify effective ways to encourage public sector buildings to utilise roof space by installing solar panels.

Matthew Hancock: The Government set out in its Solar Strategy Part 2, published in April 2014, an ambition to install solar panels on the public sector estate. The Cabinet Office is working with other government departments to identify suitable projects.

Cabinet Office: Freedom of Information

Peter Grant: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, on how many occasions his Department applied the exemption in section 38(1)(a) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (disclosure likely to endanger the physical or mental health of any individual) in wholly or partly refusing a freedom of information request in each of the last five years.

Peter Grant: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what instructions have been given to staff in his Department dealing with freedom of information requests on the application of Freedom of Information Act Awareness Guidance No. 19, issued by the Information Commissioner's Office, in considering whether to apply the exemptions in section 38 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Peter Grant: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, on how many occasions his Department applied the exemption in section 38(1)(b) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (disclosure likely to endanger the safety of any individual) in wholly or partly refusing a freedom of information request in each of the last five years.

Matthew Hancock: Statistics on the use of Freedom of Information exemptions (including the use of Section 38) are published by the Ministry of Justice. They are available here https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/government-foi-statisticsMore detailed figures for the constituent parts of section 38 could only be provided at disproportionate cost.The Cabinet Office has not issued guidance to staff on the application of “Freedom of Information Act Awareness Guidance No.19”, issued by the Information Commissioner's Office, about the application of section 38 of the Act. However, the Ministry of Justice has published its own guidance on the use of this exemption. This is available here: http://www.justice.gov.uk/information-access-rights/foi-guidance-for-practitioners/exemptions-guidance

Government Departments: Travel

Tom Watson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will publish the revised travel guidance used by Government departments on first class rail travel.

Matthew Hancock: There is no single government-wide travel policy, each department is responsible for setting its own travel policy.

Muslim Brotherhood

Ann Clwyd: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, when he plans to publish the report of the review into the Muslim Brotherhood; and if he will make a statement.

Matthew Hancock: I refer the hon. Member to my Rt. Hon. Friend the Prime Minister’s Written Ministerial Statement of 16 March.

Electronic Government

Valerie Vaz: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how members of the public can access Government-commissioned reports on the gov.uk website which have been archived.

Matthew Hancock: It is our policy to keep content published on GOV.UK available as a public record. Any content which is not current, or has been superseded, is clearly marked including Government-commissioned reports.

Conditions of Employment: Bradford East

Imran Hussain: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate he has made of the number of contracts for new jobs created between April 2014 and April 2015 in Bradford East which were zero-hours contracts.

Mr Rob Wilson: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply. 



UKSA Letter to Member - Zero Hour Contracts
(PDF Document, 198.38 KB)

Department for Culture Media and Sport

Tourism: Aviation

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate he has made as to the effect of leisure aviation on the UK tourism sector; and if he will make a statement.

Tracey Crouch: Leisure aviation is an important part of the general aviation sector. In March 2015 the Coalition Government published a General Aviation Strategy which set out how the Government would work with this sector and this approach continues. Alongside this, the Government published economic research which estimated the sector, which includes tourism related activity such as leisure flying, gliding clubs and ballooning, is worth around £3 billion annually to the UK economy, and is responsible for around 38,000 jobs. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/general-aviation-strategy https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/general-aviation-economic-value

Tourism

Mark Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps he is taking to promote growth in tourism.

Tracey Crouch: The GREAT Britain campaign continues to promote great British holidays at home, through the 'Holidays at Home' are GREAT campaign, and overseas. In its first 3 years of operation, it is estimated that the campaign has now generated £520.6 million in incremental spend for the domestic tourism industry and over two million domestic overnight holiday trips. It is anticipated that Visit Britain's GREAT activity will help generate an extra £305 million in incremental spend by inbound visitors (2012/13-2013/14). The £2 million GREAT UK Challenge Fund, administered by VisitEngland, will help promote cities, regions and nations across the UK overseas. We are also encouraging travel outside of London through an innovative financial incentive scheme for Chinese tourists (equivalent to the cost of a visit visa). Our £10 million tourism in the North and £5 million tourism in the South West funds, also aim to create joined-up strategies for promoting these areas as top holiday destinations for international travellers and aid stable job creation.

Wind Power: Seas and Oceans

Richard Drax: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, when and by whom his Department was first made aware of (a) the Crown Estate's round 3 zone selection process and (b) the potential effect of that process on (i) the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Sites and (ii) tourism in that area; and what responses his Department made to consultations on that matter.

Tracey Crouch: There is no record of when and by whom this department was made aware of the Crown Estate's round 3 selection process which was launched in 2008. Records have not been kept of any assessment done on the potential effects of the process on the World Heritage Site or tourism in that area, nor of any response made to consultations.

Video on Demand: Disability

Heidi Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what progress he has made on setting targets for on-demand broadcasters to provide subtitles and audio description for people with sensory loss.

Mr Edward Vaizey: The government is committed to seeing an improvement in the levels of provision of accessibility services for video-on-demand (VoD) services. We have been monitoring progress of the provision of access services for VoD content since 2013 through engagement with the Authority for Television On Demand (ATVOD), platform operators and content providers. We will work with them - and use information from the April 2015 paper by Action on Hearing Loss, Sense and RNIB - to define a target that we will expect providers to reach by mid-2016. If ATVOD's 2015 annual survey of VoD services indicates that significant progress has not been made then, as we stated in the Connectivity, Content and Consumers paper (July 2013), we will consider legislation in 2016.

Local Broadcasting: Television

Mr David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what progress his Department has made on the roll out of local television services.

Mr Edward Vaizey: To date 18 Local TV services have launched across the UK, increasing the range and availability of local news, information and other local programming in areas served.

Football

Harry Harpham: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions he has had with the English Premier League on promoting grass roots sport.

Tracey Crouch: The Minister for Sport and Tourism has already had a number of discussions with the Premier League about how best to support the game. Further meetings are planned in the weeks and months ahead, but we are agreed that football's grassroots need greater investment and we will work in partnership to ensure that this happens.

Tourism

David Rutley: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent estimate he has made of the contribution made by tourism to the economy.

Tracey Crouch: The Office for National Statistics has estimated that tourism was worth £59.6 billion Gross Value Added to the UK economy in 2014. Taking account of indirect benefits, Deloitte forecast that tourism would be worth an estimated £133.6 billion last year, supporting 3.16 million jobs.

Arts

Chris White: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent assessment he has made of the contribution of creative industries to the economy.

Mr Edward Vaizey: The creative industries continue to play a key role in our economic recovery, outperforming almost all other sectors of the economy. Figures published on 30th June showed the creative industries accounted for 1.8 million jobs in the UK in 2014, an increase of nearly 16% since 2011, with a further 900,000 creative jobs in the wider economy.

Broadcasting: Football

Owen Thompson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if he will have discussions with broadcasters on free-to-view broadcasting of international football matches involving the home nations.

Mr Edward Vaizey: The Government recognises the important role that sport plays in all our lives and a Free-to-Air Listed Events regime has operated in the UK for many years. Taking into account the list, it is a commercial matter for the broadcasters as to what sporting events they choose to bid for and how they show them.

House of Commons Commission

Westminster Hall: Cafes

Patrick Grady: To ask the hon. Member for Mole Valley representing the House of Commons Commission, what recent assessment the Commission has made of the profitability of the Jubilee Café.

Sir Paul Beresford: For the financial year ending 2014/15 the Jubilee Café made a positive contribution of £22.8k to reducing the net cost of catering to the House of Commons.

Palace of Westminster: Repairs and Maintenance

Deidre  Brock: To ask the hon. Member for Mole Valley representing the House of Commons Commission, what mechanisms the Commission has put in place for assessing the value for money of each of the options for restoration and renewal of the Palace of Westminster.

Sir Paul Beresford: The House of Commons Commission and the House of Lords House Committee asked for the independent appraisal of options for restoring and renewing the Palace of Westminster that was published on 18 June. The IOA does not test value for money as such, because it is not yet possible to quantify the benefits of the different options in cash terms. Instead it recommends that value for money should be tested in the course of drawing up a business case in the next phase. The Commission expects value for money to be central to the work of the Joint Committee that is to be set up to take this matter forward.